My Bad Bad Angel
by GallifreyXFalling
Summary: Fourth in the series featuring Seraphiel. More Destiel and Domestic Sera/Sam and stuff...
1. Chapter 1

Dean walked into the kitchen, snapping on his watch and adjusting it. He stopped short when he saw Castiel already at the counter, pouring coffee into the mug Dean tended to prefer. He snorted and smiled to himself, he still wasn't used to him doing normal things like this. Cas turned and crossed the room, putting the mug into his hands. Dean put his fingers around it, lifting it to his lips to take a drink. Cas gave a weak smile and then turned away, walking over to the counter to lean against it.

Dean took another drink then stepped forward a little, setting the mug down on the table as he passed it. "You feeling like yourself again?"

"I have burned off all of Meg's demonic energy, yes."

"That's good. I'm glad to have old Cas back."

The angel forced out a laugh, then became serious again. "I never apologized."

"For what?"

"What I did with Meg."

"Dude, I never said we were exclusive…well, at least I hadn't said it at that point, there's nothing to apologize for."

"But it made you upset, which I actively aimed to do, and I regret causing you negative feeling…" Dean reached up and put his finger over Cas's lips to stop him talking, the same way Sera always did to any of them when they started babbling. When he realized he had done it, he lowered his hand.

"It's fine, Cas. Practically forgotten."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Dean plastered on one of his toothy grins. "Soon as we get all of our clothes done and I can find another job to get to, we can get out on the road again. I hope it gets done sooner rather than later, I'm getting restless here."

"You and domesticity have never been on good terms."

"Guess you'd know that better than anyone…"

"That I would."

Dean looked the angel…HIS angel, up and down. This whole thing was still weird to him but he was happy, happier than he had been in a really long time, when he was with Cas. The rest of it, all of the pain and the angst and the grief, just sort of melted away when he was in this angel's arms. Not even that. It was enough just being in the same room, or as long as he could see him or hear his voice when they were on a job he knew he was safe. It was when they had to split up that he got tense and worried.

With all of this running through his head, Dean couldn't help himself. He stepped a little closer and started kissing him. Castiel grabbed him and turned him around, pressing him up against the counter. This went on for several moments before they heard a little cough from the doorway and broke apart. It was Sera, standing there with a laundry basket full of denim.

"I really hate to interrupt you guys, but Sam's going to be down here in like three seconds, just wanted to save some awkwardness."

Dean cleared his throat and gently pushed Cas away. "Uh…thanks."

"No problem." She walked further in and moved the coffee mug so she could set the basket on the table. "Anyone up for breakfast?"

"Not really hungry," Dean said, shrugging, stepping over to the table to pick up his coffee mug, so he would have something to do. They heard Sam's heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Castiel went over to the fridge and took out the flavored creamer Sam liked to pretend he didn't use and put it directly into his hand as he walked in. Sam stopped and looked at it curiously, then at Castiel, and then just shook his head and kept walking towards the coffee machine.

Sera gave a sly smile at Dean, who looked uncomfortably away. "Is that our stuff?" He said, gesturing towards the laundry basket.

"Yeah."

He leaned over and sniffed it, he had caught a whiff of something and wondered if it was coming from the clothes, and it was. "Why do they smell like vinegar?"

"I had to do a stain treatment…upstairs, before I could wash them."

"Yeah but why vinegar?"

Her eyes were all shifty for a second. "It's acidic…you need acid to break down protein and oil-based stains…"

"Yeah but…" She was giving him a look and suddenly he realized what she meant. "Oh, right. Okay."

Luckily Sam hadn't been paying enough attention to ask what they were talking about. Sera picked up the laundry basket and left the room to go wash them, leaving them alone. Dean just kept taking silent sips of his coffee, Castiel looked between the brothers and then just turned and walked out, leaving them alone to talk for the first time in a very long time.

"So how have things been with Cas?" Sam said, making Dean almost choke on his coffee. "Sorry, what?"

"Hunting, with Cas, how has it been?"

"We told you all about it last night."

"You talked about what jobs you've done, but you didn't give details or talk about what it's been like. A little while ago Sera said you guys were having personal problems, what was that about?"

"It was nothing…" Dean said, "A little misunderstanding over a girl, it really wasn't anything."

"Must have been something or you wouldn't have called her at six a.m. asking for help."

"What, are you listening in on phone calls now?"

"No, just…the ringing woke me up. I sleep light."

"Well whatever it was it's resolved now so just…drop it, alright?"

Sam shrugged "Whatever." He tried to seem ambivalent, but he was really highly suspicious of the fact that Dean didn't want to talk about any of it. He knew he loved to bitch about people behind their backs, he used to talk about Sam to Bobby all of the time. "Sera says I should pack, that I'm going with you when you leave again and Cas is going somewhere else."

Dean's brows furrowed, "What? Did she say where?"

Sam shook his head. "Just that he had 'other things to do.'" He used air quotes. "Which means more cryptic angelic crap she can't or won't tell us about."

"Do you want to come back out on the road? I mean…I'd like it, obviously, but you know…you've got a close to normal life here…"

"Yeah, shacked up with the Guardian of God and our half-human half-angel daughter whose favorite pastime is setting grass on fire. That's normal."

"You're living in an actual house with a beautiful woman that loves you and an infant daughter that worships the ground you walk on. You have your own bed, you aren't traipsing around the country sleeping in abandoned houses and seedy motel rooms. You have very little risk of getting food poisoning from undercooked meat or rashes from dirty sheets…need I go on?"

"No, I think I'm good."

"Just saying that…if I was you, and not me, I wouldn't want to leave this."

"If it was the other way around and you had ended up with her and a kid?"

"We're not talking about me."

"But I don't know what I should do…maybe it would help."

"It really wouldn't. Either way, we'll find out soon enough which is the better choice."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." What he meant, of course, was that what Dean wanted, what would make him happy, was for Sam to be happy, and if that meant leaving his family and going back out on the road with him, then that's what would happen.

Suddenly Crowley appeared between them, making them both start. He had his arms crossed and lips pursed in obvious frustration. He looked between them, "Have either of you heard from Meg?" He said tersely.

"Uh…no. Why would we?" Sam said, Dean just neglected to answer.

"She's gone missing."

"Don't you have a way of tracking the demons or whatever? You never seem to have trouble keeping the rest of them in check."

"You don't get it. She has literally vanished off of every possible radar that I had her on…and believe me I was keeping a close watch on her, she's crafty. I even had someone tailing her, but a few weeks ago she shook them off and then just…" He made a poofing gesture with his hands and then dropped them to his sides in exasperation.

"Don't know what to tell ya." Dean said. "Maybe she's dead."

"Even if she was, her body would have been found or something by now. No, she's skipped out."

At that moment Sera walked by and stopped on her way out the door when she saw Crowley. She cautiously stepped into the room.

"Something wrong?"

"Meg's missing." Sam said. Sera's eyebrows went up, "Really? Any clues as to where she's gone?"

"None. She's vanished."

Sera looked at Dean, "Well, isn't that strange?" Her eyes flicked over to Crowley. "We'll be sure to call you if we hear anything."

Crowley started to say something, but then stopped, gave her a skeptical look and vanished.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." She said sarcastically, before she started walking backwards out of the room. She gestured between Dean and Sam. "Would you fill him in? Because it'd be better if he hears it from you rather than her, or me, and she's going to be here some time tomorrow and you know how she is about keeping secrets…"

Suddenly she turned and rushed out, leaving them alone. Sam looked at Dean. "Tell me what exactly?"

"Hey, you know what? I think I will eat something…"

"Dean." He said sternly. Dean sighed and tried to avoid looking his brother in the eye. How the hell was he supposed to explain the Meg situation?


	2. Chapter 2

"Dean?"

"Fine, fine, just stop with the face, alright?" He sighed. "Meg…isn't a demon anymore."

"What? How is that even possible?"

"Apparently there's this thing angels can do where they sort of…wash Hell out of a soul by flooding it with their grace and turn a twisted demonic presence into…well, something else."

"Something else like what, exactly?"

"Well…I don't know. I mean…she can still like…teleport and stuff and can occupy a meatsuit but the knife doesn't work on her…or salt, or holy water and she's not, you know…inherently evil."

Dean watched as Sam did that thing with his face when he held an entire conversation with himself. Finally he came around to the question Dean had been hoping he wouldn't ask, "How did this happen? I mean…who…how?"

"It was Cas…he uh…he did it."

"But…how? And why?"

"Apparently it's a…physical thing and uh…" Dean cleared his throat. "And he did it to uh…dammit I can't do this."

"Can't do what?"

"Have this conversation…I just…CAS!" He yelled. There was a slight shift in the air and Castiel appeared between them. "Yes?"

"Can you just…tell him how and why you did what you did with Meg…"

"Of course." Castiel said flatly, turning toward Sam. "I had sex with her to make Dean angry and jealous and unintentionally purified her soul."

Sam blinked, "You…had sex with Meg?"

"Yes."

"To make Dean jealous."

"Yes, it was her idea."

"Did it work?"

"Sam do you really have to-" Dean interjected.

"I'm just curious."

"Yes, it worked." Castiel said, making Sam snort. "He was very upset with me, but we made up-"

"Uh, yeah that's enough, Cas." Dean said, stepping forward and putting his hand around Cas's upper arm, squeezing it slightly, trying to signal him to shut up. Sam was pretending he didn't hear anything implicative as he refilled his coffee. Cas just nodded at Dean and vanished again, right out of his hand, he stumbled a little, trying to regain his bearings, awkwardly lowering his arm. He looked at his brother then cleared his throat and gestured towards the library, "I'll just uh…go…search for cases."

"Right." Sam said with a smile, he was having trouble not cracking up over this. When Sera came back in she glanced up and around as she flipped through a large stack of mail. "You guys talk things over?"

"Yeah, kind of. Were you going to tell me Meg isn't a demon anymore?"

"I was gonna, but I wasn't directly involved so it'd be an abuse of my power. Anything else?"

"Is there anything else?"

"Loads, but if he didn't say anything I'm not going to." She moved over to the table and set the stack down, retaining one letter in her hand and ripping it open. "You need to go pack."

"Why? I still haven't decided if I'm going with him or not."

"You are," she said absentmindedly, her brow furrowing as she read. "Hm."

"What?"

She looked up, plastering on her "I'm definitely hiding something" smile. "Nothing." She tried to hide the paper behind her back, Sam set down his cup and stepped forward, grabbing for it as she backed away. "CAS!" She screamed. He appeared just behind her and she handed it off. Sera looked over her shoulder. "Take it, read, then destroy it, okay?" He nodded and then disappeared.

"What the hell was that about?"

"Confidential information."

"For angels…in the mail?"

"Couldn't get it to us the usual way, there might be someone listening in, you never know. Human methods are safer." Sam made skeptical noises and then gained on her more until she hit the door jamb, then began kissing her, "Tell me." He said, and she shook her head, forcing him to move down her neck. It was becoming difficult, because of his height, so he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up. Sera started giggling uncontrollably. Dean called from his seat at the desk, "Could you cut that out, please, I'm trying to work."

Sam pulled away and rolled his eyes, "Fine, she's not going to give it up anyway." He let go of her, letting her land with a thump on the floor.

"Damn right I won't. I learned my lesson." She walked past him, smacking his ass on the way back over to the table, looking through and opening the rest of the mail. "Phone bill's jacked up, knew that letting the hunters know the lines were back open was going to cause problems."

As she folded the bill back up, one of the phones went off. Dean answered it and rattled off the usual message. Sera walked into the library and stood in front of the desk, pulling faces, trying to make Dean laugh while he's supposed to sound professional, then she looked up at the ceiling, and put up her hand, counting down from five. When she hit zero, Cas appeared next to her, luckily just as Dean was setting the phone back down. Sera put her hand down and looked over at him.

"So?"

"I need to leave now," He looked at Dean. "I may not return for some time."

"Keep your phone on you." Sera said, "You know how nervous Dean gets when he doesn't know where you are."

Castiel nodded, then gave a longing look to Dean before vanishing, leaving him very confused. "Wait…what? Where is he going?"

"He's got…things to do. Go back to your search, I have a feeling you're going to find something soon." She looked up just as Thalia was beginning to cry. Dean knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of her, especially since a second later she vanished to go care for her daughter. Sam stepped in, taking the seat on the opposite side of the desk, sipping his coffee.

"That is really annoying."

"The dropping vague hints and then disappearing thing? Yeah, I've gotten used to it." He took a long, slurping drin from his mug and swallowed hard. "I guess this pretty much settles it then."

"Settles what?"

"That I'm going back out on the road with you. Cas is going to be gone for who knows how long and I can't let you just…run off on your own without backup, I know how well that turns out every single damn tie it happens, so find a job and I'll go pack."

"It's not a given…"

"Yes, it is, now shut up and search." There was the sound of footsteps falling on the stairs and soon enough Sera appeared carrying Thalia.

"I think your daughter has something to say to you, Sam." Sam looked over his shoulder, then immediately set the mug on the desk and got out of his chair, gliding over to his non-wife and daughter. He took Thalia in his arms, and Dean could see her arm reaching up, trying to grab hair that was no longer there, and he heard a small sound, and realized she had spoken. His niece had said her first verbal word, and it was "Daddy."


	3. Chapter 3

Sam stepped out the door, turning and heading for the car. He had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and he was running everything through his head. He still didn't really believe he was leaving. The hunter paused when he heard his brother's voice, peeking out from behind a stack of junked cars, wondering who he was talking to.

"Where are you? With all that music I'm hearing I'm assuming it's fun." There was a pause. "Rio? What the hell are you doing in Rio?" A shorter pause as he opened ther trunk to put his own bag inside. "I swear if you say angel business again I am going to get on a plane, come to Rio, find you, and punch you in the face." Sam tried not to snort too loudly. "I don't care if it breaks, you'll heal it…What do you mean 'not likely'? Something wrong with your mojo?" Sam smiled at the look of realization that came across Dean's face. "You were teasing me. You were actually…wow. Okay. Well just…be careful, alright?"

Sam's brows furrowed at Dean's expression. He looked genuinely worried, not a look Sam saw often for anyone but him. "Of course I trust you. With my life, you know that, how many times do I have to prove it?"

Sam wondered if he should just go ahead and walk up, since it was just Cas, but then Dean's tone changed and he decided to stay behind the car. "So, are you sticking out like a sore thumb walking around om the trench coat or did you go native?" His voice was actually…implicative, like it was just a more subtle version of the "What are you wearing" question on a phone sex line.

"Really? I'd like to see that. Your phone has a camera, have someone take a picture and send it to me. And some pics of those girls in string bikinis." He laughed. "You know I'm kidding. I always keep my promises, although it's going to be really hard with you being gone and all…it was weird enough getting woken up by an actual alarm this morning instead of you scratching my face with that scruff you refuse to shave."

Sam backed away a bit and then walked towards the car, his footfalls obvious and heavy on the gravel. Dean turned and saw him coming. "Yeah I'll um…I'll call you back later, okay?" He whispered something next, but Sam didn't hear what it was, and then ended the call. Sam tossed his bag into the trunk and then slammed it shut.

"You ready to go?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, Sera wants us to eat first, though."

"Of course she does. Are we bailing?"

"She said we were going to, but she was hoping we would make a different decision."

"She's never wrong. Come on, let's go." They walked to their respective doors and opened them, but Sam paused. "Hey, was that Cas on the phone?"

Dean's eyes went a little shifty. "Yeah, why?"

"Where is he?"

"Rio. Searching for a relic or something."

Sam looked at him skeptically. "Right," he said, before sliding into the car. Dean just shook it off and got in, starting her up. He rubbed the dashboard, loving the sound of his Baby purring again, ready to get them back out on the road to their next adventure.

Seraphiel watched them drive away from the window in the door, trying to be unobtrusive, because she knew if Sam even caught a glimpse of her he'd jump out of the car and come back, especially since she was holding their daughter on her hip. She let the aged, flowery curtain fall and then walked into the library, setting Thalia down in her playpen. She stepped into the kitchen, looking over her shoulder as she filled the tea kettle up in the sink, seeing that her daughter was standing, holding herself up on the edge of the playpen, staring intently at her. She smiled, then turned the water off, putting the lid on the kettle and setting it on the stove, turning on the burner.

She leaned against the counter and held a staring contest with her daughter until the kettle went off, then poured the boiling water into a teapot she had prepared earlier with a handful of loose leaves at the bottom. She set two cups close by it and then went into the library and played with her daughter, until about ten minutes later she heard a knock on the door.

She let out a breath. "Company's here, Tally. I want you to be on your best behavior. No matter what you think of her, no setting her on fire or exorcising her or anything, alright? Don't give me that blank expression, I know you understand me." She was sort of mock scolding at the end, although she was completely serious. She stood and went to the front door and opened it. Sure enough, Meg was standing there, only now her hair was dyed blond, straightened, and she was in a red sleeveless wraparound dress and a matching pair of heels. She looked entirely unlike herself, which Sera guessed was kind of the point. "Hello M-"

She put a finger to Sera's lips to stop her talking. "I don't go by that name anymore. I stole it from a meatsuit, anyway. Use my real one." She lowered her hand. Sera's brows furrowed in slight confusion.

"Okay then, _Prudence._ Come on in." She moved aside, letting her in. Her heels clacked against the floor. "Tea?" Sera offered, as she shut the door.

"Yes, please." She said, rather excitedly, like it had been a hundred years since she had had proper tea. It might have been, for all Sera knew. She closed the door and walked through the library into the kitchen, and _Prudence_ followed her, taking off her shoes when she got into the library and getting down on her knees next to the playpen, pulling faces at Thalia.

"You have gotten so big since I saw you last. Do you even remember me, angel baby?" She tilted her head at the child, who mirrored the gesture, and then smiled. "Yeah, you remember me. I know I'm a little different, but you're smarter to be put off by a makeover."

She put her fingers through the netting and Thalia wrapped her hand around two of them, making _Prudence_ giggle. Sera came back in, a saucer with a teacup on it in each hand. Prudence got to her feet and backed up, sitting on the couch, extending her hand to take the cup and saucer from Sera as she sat next to her. She took a sip then looked out of the top of her eyes at Sera, her full red lips pulling into a smile. "You remembered."

"It's impossible for me to forget anything, don't feel flattered." Sera took a sip of her tea and then placed the saucer carefully on the nearby coffee table. "Now, go ahead, tell me what you wanted to tell me."

"Why bother? There's nothing you don't already know."

"True. Although some things I wished I didn't. It's really hard trying to get the image of you and Cas out of my head."

"I'm assuming you already know about Crowley as well?" She asked, taking another sip.

"And yet he is still allowed to live. Not only that, he comes and goes in this house as he pleases, immune to all of the wards. Shouldn't you…I don't know….be doing something to stop him?"

"I can't."

"Like…can't? Like you can't tell Sam and Dean how they are going to die or tell Cas-"

"Yes," She interrupted. "I can't. God's not allowing me. Believe me, I've tried."

"What exactly does Crowley stealing your daughter have to do with the divine plan? Surely there's another way."

"I'm positive that there are several, but things are how they have to be." Sera picked up her cup and downed the rest of her tea in three large gulps, despite the fact that it was still hot, and then set the empty cup back down on the table. "Skip all of that, just tell me why you're here."

"Protection," Prudence said flatly. "I am almost completely human now, and this weird aura I have around me that's been keeping me off the radars of Heaven and Hell is fading. I need something stronger. Something so strong that Crowley won't be able to see me even if I was less than a foot from his face."

"So you came to me?"

"You're the only one who could do it, the only one I trust, and since Crowley is here so often it is the best place to test it."

Sera looked at her daughter. She couldn't help her, would never be able to keep her entirely safe from her fate, but she could do this. In fact, she wanted to, she was feeling an odd compulsion to do it. That usually meant that she had to. She looked back at Prudence and nodded. A sly smile came across her face. The face she had stolen from a girl who had been beaten half-dead in an alley and prayed for deliverance, and girl who's soul was no longer inside this body. Whether it had moved on or had been burned away, Sera didn't truly know. Details like that are not generally mentioned in the scrolls of Heaven.

A single soul, some unimportant girl who wanted to be an actress, she doesn't matter. Not to Metatron, at any rate. To Sera, though, they all mattered. Every. Single. Soul. Her Father used to say that's what made her unique. She was the angel that cared the most about humanity as a whole, who thought that everyone mattered, not just the vessels that carried on the bloodline or the prophets or the ones that might one day grow to be powerful demons, but everyone. But she was also the one who had to sit back and watch such terrible things happen to all of them and was forced to do nothing.

Sam and Dean still didn't understand that she had no free will, none at all. There was not a breath she took that was not commanded by the will of God. Even the conception of her daughter, and what would one day come to pass for her, was Divine Command. She pulled from her thoughts and looked back up at Prudence.

"We need to wait for Cas, he'll be here around midnight with what we need."

"Good, plenty of time for me to get to know little Tally there."

Sera glanced nervously at her daughter, then plastered on a smile. She didn't really like the idea of her spending any time with her at all, much less calling her by her nickname, but she had no choice, she stood up and held her hand out for the cup and saucer, which Prudence handed over, before turning and going back into the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean stood in the bathroom, the sound of the water running somehow comforting as he took the washrag and cleaned the blood off of his hands, face and neck. Sam was in the next room, talking to Sera. Well, at this point he was talking to Thalia. Somehow, in all of the craziness Sam found time to call home every day around the time Sera put Thalia to bed, and he talked to his daughter. He didn't want her to forget his voice, her father's voice. Dean knew it was because John would leave for days, weeks, sometimes months without calling. Dean knew him but to Sam sometimes he'd practically be a stranger. He didn't want to be a stranger to his daughter.

Dean checked his shirt, thankfully it was black and the bloodstain wouldn't show up. Not that he cared for personal reasons but it would be rather awkward to explain if anyone saw it. He heard Sam hang up and then stepped back out into the room, heading for the fridge to grab a beer. Suddenly he heard that terrible clicking noise again. He turned around as he took a drink and sure enough Sam was taking pictures of him again.

"Dammit, stop doing that."

"Sera said to take as many as possible, she wants to know what we're up to."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to snap pics of me every time I turn around."

"Yes it does," He said, pressing the button again, causing it to make that loud clicking noise. Dean hated it, he thought that those expensive digital cameras were supposed to be silent. He set the bottle down and then walked over to Sam, snatching the camera away from him and turning the lens toward him. He started hitting the button repeatedly, snapping one dorky photo of Sam after another, and then tossed it on the bed. "There. Now she's got plenty." He turned around, stepped over to the chair and pulled his jacket on before picking up his beer and taking another drink.

"You going out?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"Does it matter? I just…need to get out."

"Alright. See you in the morning then?"

"Yeah." Dean set the half-empty bottle down and then walked out, his feet heavy on the floor. Sam could see he was troubled, the way he was squaring his shoulders and hanging his head. He was worried. He hadn't seen him like this since Cas died and he wondered what was wrong. However, there was nothing he could do about it now. Now, he needed sleep.

Dean pulled the car into the parking lot of a bar, turned off the car and then just sat there. Silent, as if waiting for something as he watched the door. It was true, he had needed to get out, get away from his brother and that cramped motel room and the images running through his head of all that they had done. But once he was away from it, he didn't really have a plan as to what to do. Normally he would go into that bar, drown his thoughts a bit and then bury himself in a woman or two for the night, but that wouldn't work anymore, it wasn't enough.

Suddenly his felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket and a smile came to his face before he even drew it out. He knew who it was before he even saw the name on the screen. He gave a short laugh and then answered it.

"Hey Cas."

"Hello Dean."

"How's it going?"

"I have completed my work and returned the relic to Seraphiel. I wish to see you."

Dean bit his lip, and relayed his location. Before he could hang up the angel appeared in the passenger seat, phone still in hand. Dean turned his phone off and shoved it back in his pocket, and a grin made it's way across his face as Cas awkwardly put his own away. "How was Rio?"

"Hot, and loud, and garish." He said flatly, "I did not like it. Especially the clothing." His beautiful blue eyes glanced over at Dean. "I…I missed you."

Dean swallowed hard, "Yeah, same here." He looked towards the bar. "You want to get a drink?" Castiel nodded, and they got out of the car.

Sera held the piece of broken wood in her hands. It had been quite a long time since she had seen it, held it in her hands. Last time had been just after the Flood, when she had taken the pieces and scattered them. Now they needed to be gathered and destroyed…but not before she could use them.

Prudence stood next to her, gazing at the piece of wood reaching her fingers out like she was going to touch it, but stopped before actually making contact. "I can't believe that I'm looking at a piece of the actual Ark. THE Ark. I mean…Seriously shouldn't it have rotted or petrified by now or something?"

"It should have, but every piece of that boat was covered by God's protection. That's why we couldn't just burn it or something afterwards, we had to take it apart carefully and scatter it. Now, after all that's happened…this much power can't be left just lying around. I have to destroy it."

"How? I mean…if it's that protected…"

"It's difficult, but possible." She looked up and then over at Prudence, "Never you mind about that. Just sit down, and I'll start the ritual."

She nodded, slowly and silently, then stepped over to the chair Sera had set in the middle of the library. "How much is this going to hurt?"

"A lot, but you've been through hell and came out fighting, I think you can take it."

"You have a surprising amount of faith in me," She said, looking up and down Sera's back. She couldn't see what she was doing, but she caught glimpses of her opening a bottle full of red fluid and pouring it into the silver bowl in front of her.

"I've always had faith in you, Prudence. I have faith in everyone."

"That's surprising I would think that knowing what everyone's going to do would make you a little more skeptical."

"If I thought like that I wouldn't find any reason for continuing. I have to have hope for the best in people." She picked up the small box of matches, and then lit one, lowering it to the bowl making the contents catch fire, then shaking it out and dropping it in the trash can. She stepped over to the coffee table as it slowly burned down, picking up a cup and then pausing to look at Prudence.

"Do you feel bad about what you've done?"

"What?"

"All of the murder and supporting Lucifer and everything."

She sighed, "I didn't, when I sought out Castiel. I just thought it would be the best way to evade Crowley. But…after all of that mess was out of my soul I…I started thinking about it. All of it, everything I had done while I was a demon, and I was disgusted. I got physically sick, and all I wanted was to go back in time and not make that deal so that it wouldn't happen, but I knew that if I didn't, someone else would have, and I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone." She looked up into the eyes of the angel. "So yes, I am."

Sera smiled approvingly then stepped over to the desk, filling the cup with the contents of the silver bowl. She turned and looked at Prudence. "Put your hands behind your back."

She looked confused, but did so. Sera flicked her free hand and the rope over in the corner wrapped around her wrists and ankles, binding her to the chair. "I just…didn't want you trying to hurt me or stop me feeding it to you."

"I understand." She nodded. "Let's just get this over with."

Sera put the cup to her lips and tilted.

Castiel lowered the now empty glass of beer, letting out a belch that brought a smile to Dean's face. "Wow, where'd that come from?"

"All of the carbonation from the six beers I've had."

Dean snorted and looked over at the jukebox, some young chick had played all of the crappy country songs and Britney Spears for the past hour. She had way too many quarters. If he wasn't a better person, Dean would have just shot her in the face by now. He was really getting tired of it.

"You wanna get out of here? If I hear 'Toxic' one more time I'm going to hit someone."

Castiel just nodded, turning and walking out as Dean opened up his wallet and paid for their drinks. He followed him out, glancing around the parking lot to see if anyone was looking, before grabbing Castiel's arm and turning him around. He pulled the angel close, planting his mouth on him. A few moments later he broke away, putting his hands on the sides of Castiel's face. "I missed you so much."

Castiel's brows furrowed. "You've already said that."

"Yeah, well, you know how great I am with words."

"You're better at action."

Dean laughed and then leaned forward, putting his forehead to Cas's. "Yeah, yeah I am." He started kissing him again, his hands moving down to grip his lapels and pull his body closer. He smiled into it as he felt Cas sliding his hands down and grabbing his ass. Dean pressed so hard against him he stumbled back a little, pulling Dean with him. They kept going until they were pressed up against the car.

Dean pulled his shirt from his pants then undid his belt. He began to slide his hand in when Cas stopped him. He pulled away to look at him, "What?"

"Dean, this is a public place. We are in a parking lot, anyone could walk out of that bar or drive up at any time. Isn't doing this here frowned upon?"

"That's mostly why it's fun."

"Yes but…the idea of someone possibly watching our intimate affairs makes me…uncomfortable."

Dean let this sink in then laughed and stepped away. "Wow, finally found something that's a turn-off. That's…that's kind of cute." He looked around again, then bit his lip as he looked Castiel up and down. The angel pulled off his trenchcoat and tossed it through the open window.

"I would not be opposed to doing it in the car." He said, sliding over and popping the back door open. Dean smiled and stepped towards him again.

Meg's screams finally died down, and her entire body relaxed. Seraphiel untied her, then moved back around to her front and lifted her chin, checking her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just spent a year under Alastair's knife. Better be worth it."

"We'll have to test and see. If it didn't, I'm sorry. He's going to think I'm summoning him to turn you in."

"Then this better work."

"It will, but still, I feel like I should preemptively apologize just in case."

"Well I accept. If I get captured or killed I know that you did everything you could."

Sera smiled and helped her out of the chair, then hugged her close. "You should know that I tried to save you myself, instead of letting you go through with the demon deal, but I couldn't, I wasn't allowed, helping your child is all I could do, and I'm sorry."

Prudence hesitated, then wrapped her arms around the angel. They stood there embraced in silence, and then broke apart, both of them a little teary.

"Alright," Prudence said, "Let's do this."


	5. Chapter 5

Dean leaned against the door, Castiel lying flat on his chest. His hand was over Castiel's their fingers haphazardly laced together. "We should go somewhere."

"We are somewhere." Cas said, obviously confused.

"No, I mean…you've done your thing, I've done mine…maybe we should, I don't know, take a vacation or something."

"Where?"

"I don't know. You're an angel, you could zap us anywhere, right? Like…Jamaica or Germany or Hawaii or something. Kind of always wanted to go to Amsterdam but you know…work and the whole flying thing. Plus this isn't the best-paying job in the world."

Dean glanced down and saw Castiel's brow furrow, it looked funnier from this angle. "Why?"

"I don't know, it's just something people do. Get away from their lives and do something fun. Remember when we pretended to be married that time we all went to Napa? We could do something like that, but for real this time. No hunting."

Castiel turned the hand Dean had been holding palm up, so they could do it properly. "I would like to, but I have to leave again in the morning. There are more relics I need to track down and since I killed the majority of the other angels and the ones that are left have abandoned their vessels…I'm the only one that can so…maybe some other time."

Dean sighed, then smiled, "I guess we shouldn't waste our time then." He tilted his head and then used his free hand to turn Castiel's face towards him, planting a sweet, slow kiss on the angel's lips. He released his hand so he could slowly slide his own down Castiel's abdomen, his fingers stopping teasingly just before reaching his pants, clawing him a little. They were just getting warmed up when there was a tap on the window behind Dean's head. Castiel didn't seem to register it but Dean scrambled, pulling his shirt back on and positioned himself to block the half-naked totally aroused Castiel from view as he turned, swallowing hard and rolling down the window, blinking into the flashlight.

Sera dropped the match into the bowl. It had been an hour since they performed the ritual. She wanted to make sure it would take and Prudence helped her destroy the relic and clean up the mess so Crowley wouldn't know what was going on. When the smoke cleared Crowley had appeared in the middle of the kitchen. Before even saying hi, he made a beeline for the cabinet.

Sera looked him up and down. "Bad day?"

"You have no idea how bad a missing prisoner is for business."

She smiled and crossed her arms, assuming a relaxed position. Prudence was right next to her. Crowley had looked in that direction twice and seen nothing. "Anything I can do?"

"Tell me where Meg is?"

"Why would I know?"

He turned and downed half his glass. "Because you know everything, Seraphiel."

"Not everything, Fergus."

"Don't call me that. That man is dead."

"Not entirely. He's still in there somewhere…" She stepped around the table and walked over to Crowley. He looked a mess. His collar was all messed up and his tie was crooked. Sera reached up and fixed it, as well as the lapels on his jacket. "Somewhere deep down beneath all that Hellfire is Fergus McCloud. He was a good man who got caught in the middle of a really bad situation, and it's because of who he was that Crowley can be who he is today, so I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him if I were you."

She smoothed the wrinkles out of his shoulders. "I haven't seen you look this bad since you thought Castiel was coming after you." She sniffed him. "Seriously though you need a shower." She rubbed the thick stubble on his face. "And a shave."

Suddenly her personal cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. She furrowed her brow at the number, then rolled her eyes. "Hold on a second." She said to Crowley, and then answered, turning and smiling at Prudence.

"Hello?"

"Sera? Oh thank God I got you."

"Dean? What's wrong?"

"Uh…Cas and I are in jail."

"What?"

"We uh…we were gettin' it on in the back of the Impala and a cop showed up…"

"Didn't they let you off with a warning first?"

"Yeah we were going to just go but…Cas said some things and the cop said some things and then I said some things and well…now we're in jail and Cas is in nothing but his pants and I don't have any shoes and he was going to just zap us out but uh…the cop's been keeping a really close eye on us. Could you…could you come get us please?"

"Can't Sam do it?"

"Well I…I didn't want him finding out about this, actually."

Sera sighed. "Fine. Where are you?" Dean relayed the location. "Alright. I'll see you."

"Make it sooner rather than later…this one guy keeps looking at me weird."

Sera hung up and then covered her mouth to keep from bursting with laughter. She took a few deep breaths and turned toward Crowley. "I'm sorry but I have to ask you to leave. Family emergency."

Crowley quirked an eyebrow and then shrugged, finishing off his scotch and then vanishing. She did a 180 and tried to contain herself as she spoke to Prudence. "Can you watch Thalia for a bit? I have to go get Dean and Cas out of jail."

She smiled and began to laugh as well, "What for?"

"They were caught having sex in a parking lot or something. Just make sure no one kidnaps her or…tries to kill her or…you know, tries to feed her their blood."

"Will do." She said with a smile, watching Sera take a coffee can from the top of the fridge, popping it open and taking out an envelope full of cash. She counted out enough for bail money and shoved it in her bra. "If she wakes up just sing her Hey Jude or warm up one of the bottles in the fridge and feed it to her, she'll pass right out."

She waved at her and then vanished, appearing just outside the police station where Dean and Cas were being held. She snorted, taking a second to get all of the laughter out of her system, pausing at the door and adjusting her dress and hair before walking in.

Dean heard the sound of high heels clacking against the linoleum and rushed toward the bars, letting out a breath of relief when he saw Sera there. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"So what did you do?"

"Uh…sang to him and messed with his memories a bit. Still left the bail money though, I felt bad about it." She had the keys in her hand, and easily found the correct one, unlocking the cell and sliding the door open. "Where's Cas?"

"He's in a different one, further down. The cop said something about…no PDA allowed in the drunk tank or something." He stepped out of the cell and one of the other prisoners tried to walk out with him, but Sera put her hand on his chest and shoved him back in, sliding the door closed and locking it. "Sorry dude, I'm not here for you." She and Dean turned and walked further down the line of cells, reaching the other group cell at the opposite end, where Cas was in with a guy in a chicken outfit and another guy in a dress. Sera tried not to laugh at him as he approached the bars, barefoot and shirtless, his pants slung low enough to make it obvious he wasn't wearing underwear.

"The people here are very strange." He said flatly, and Sera just couldn't contain herself. She burst into fits of giggles and handed Dean the keys, and he had to let Cas out.

They went back to the Impala, and Sera hung around to talk a little with Dean while Cas got his clothes on.

"Don't tell Sam about this, please."

"You know I won't." She rolled her eyes. "If you want to keep your relationship with Cas a secret from Sam it might help to not be arrested for public indecency."

"Not making any promises on that front." He glanced over her at Castiel pulling his coat on. "So…this hunting down relics thing…is it absolutely necessary that he go back to it immediately?"

"If you're asking if he can take a few days off so you two can go on a secret vacation and have non-stop blasphemous sex until you knock yourself unconscious, no. There's other people after these relics and we need to get to them first. Don't have the manpower that we used to. Me, Castiel, Cherry, a few Watchers and the Cupids are the only angels left with corporeal forms, so it's pretty much up to just me and Cas to gather these things up and destroy them to keep the demons from getting a hold of them and using them to destroy the world."

Dean rubbed the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable about her bluntness. He was never going to get used to the fact that she had no boundaries. "Oh…well…okay."

She smiled and smacked him on the arm. "Don't worry. You'll be able to see him. Your paths are probably going to cross and you know you're the only person he's going to want to see after he gets a job done." She sighed. "I better get back home." She glanced over her shoulder at Cas and then back at Dean. "You two have fun. Try not to get caught again, yeah?" She said jokingly before vanishing.

Dean snorted then looked at Cas. He tilted his head toward the car, "Come on, let's get out of here." Castiel nodded, and they got into the car.


	6. Chapter 6

The light flooded the windows of the Impala, landing on Dean's face. That is not what woke him, however, not really. It was the sudden realization that the weight on his chest was lifted. His eyes fluttered open and he realized that Castiel was gone. He sighed, leaning forward and pulling his pants up. Several thoughts were running through his head as he zipped up and then looked for his shirt. The first was that he missed Castiel, second was that he needed to man up, third was wondering what time it was and fourth was the lingering question of where his underwear had gotten to.

He finally found his shirt and pulled it on, then climbed into the front seat. He heard the buzzing noise of his phone vibrating and scrounged around for it. When he checked it, he had been hoping for a phone call from Castiel but was disappointed when it was just a text from Sam. "Whr r u?"

Seriously? He couldn't even spell the words out? He wasn't going to reply. He tossed the phone into the passenger seat and started up the car. He got halfway back to the motel before realizing he had been driving without shoes this whole time.

Sam had his bag packed and was ready to go, but Dean was off somewhere with the car. He'd been sitting on the edge of his bed texting Sera for an hour before Dean finally came through the door. He was barefoot and his hair was a mess and had the collar of his leather jacket popped up in an attempt to cover up a bite mark on his neck, an attempt that had failed miserably. He looked a mess.

He walked over to his bed and picked the duffle bag up from the end of it before looking up at Sam. "You ready to go?" He asked groggily. Sam nodded. Dean reached into his pocket and felt around, then pulled out the keys and tossed them at him. Sam almost didn't catch them.

"You're driving, I need to sleep."

Sam blinked, "Uh…okay." He gripped the keys then followed Dean out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Sam glanced over at Dean. They had been driving for about four hours and he had been asleep almost the whole time. Suddenly they hit a bump and he jerked awake, and the groaning noise he made put a smile on Sam's face.

"Mornin'." He said, and Dean just rolled his eyes, stretching and sitting up. The hunter scratched at his scalp a bit then raked his hand down his face. "How long was I out?"

"About four hours."

Dean groaned, "Wish it had been more."

"Wow. Must have been some lay last night that you're this tired."

"Uh…yeah…really…" Dean swallowed hard. The awkward tension was so thick you could cut it, "exhausting." The next several minutes were silent. Dean actively avoided looking at Sam.

Sam's brows furrowed, "You okay, man?"

"Yeah, fine, why do you ask?" He said rapidly.

"It's just…you've been really tense and tight-lipped about everything lately."

"I wouldn't say that," said a feminine voice from the back seat, causing Sam to swerve slightly. He glanced up in the rearview mirror, where Meg was sitting in the middle of the back seat, leaning forward. "Hello Meg."

"I don't go by that name anymore, Sammy."

"It's Sam."

"Yeah, whatever."

Dean looked back at her, his eyes scanning her body, mostly taking in everything that had changed about her. "Like the makeover."

"Thought you would. Isn't it just _fabulous?_" She asked, a toothy grin on her face. The way she said it made Dean glare at her. "Why are you here?" He asked, with a suddenly aggravated edge to his voice.

"What? I can't stop by just to say hi?"

"No," They said together.

"Fine. I'm here to hunt with you."

"What?" Sam said, trying very hard to keep his eyes on the road. He didn't want to endanger their safety just to engage with her.

"I'm on my path to redemption. I've done quite a few good deeds, but to really make up for what I've done I have to kill as many monsters and demons as I have people, and that's going to take a while, and I can't do it on my own."

"What makes you think we'll help you?" Dean asked.

"Because you're the Winchesters. You believe in second chances. Or does that only apply to you?"

Sam glanced up into the mirror so he could glare at her then looked back at the road. "You're barking up the wrong tree, hellbitch."

However, Dean kept eye contact with her, like he was looking into her soul. He was considering what she had said. They had given Cas a chance to redeem himself, why not Meg? Even when she had still been a demon she had tried to be helpful, even if it was for a personal agenda.

"Okay, we'll help you."

"What?"

"Come on, Sam. She deserves a chance. Besides, she's not a demon anymore. She could be helpful." If Cas could believe in her, Dean could too.

"Are you hearing yourself right now? This is Meg! How many times has she tried to kill us now?"

"I think the last count was five," Meg said factually. "But that doesn't matter now. Where are you guys heading?"

"Possible witch activity in Shreveport." Dean spat out, interrupting whatever it was Sam was opening his mouth for.

"Louisiana always has witch activity, though. They tend to punish their own."

"Well there's been six unusual deaths in the past month and no one seems to be taking care of it, so we're going to head down and see what's up."

"Sounds like fun."

Sam glared at Dean, who just looked at him with a completely straight face and said "Watch the road."

That night, when it was Dean's turn to drive, Meg was in the passenger seat and Sam was in the back asleep. Dean kept glancing up into the rearview mirror to keep an eye on him. Meg messed with the radio a bit and then smiled as she relaxed back in her seat and Black Sabbath played quietly over the speakers. "This is nice," she sighed out, closing her eyes. "Riding around with you guys, I mean. It's better than running away from you, at any rate."

Dean's brow furrowed as he glanced over at her. "Why us, anyway? There's other hunters out there, you could have hooked up with any one of them and stocked up your tally of good deeds, why us?"

"Because none of them knew me. I have never done anything to them and therefore I don't need to earn their forgiveness. You two, however…I've tried to kill you and your father, and I served the demon who killed both of your parents and arranged for Jessica's death. I owe the most to the two of you. Well, out of everyone living, at least."

"That…makes sense…I guess." There was a buzzing noise, and Dean reached into his pocket. As he went to answer Meg snatched the phone from his hand. He glared at her and she shrugged, "You're driving." She mouthed before answering.

"Hello?" pause, "Cas?" longer pause, "Yeah he's driving so I answered…oh, why am I with him? Penance. Yeah, Sam's asleep in the back."

"Ask him where he is." Dean said.

"Clarence, where are you now?" Pause, "Dean wants to know." Dean watched her smile and nod. "He's in Paris. Guess when he was wandering around the City of Love all he could think of was you."

Dean tried not to smile at that. "What?" Meg asked the phone, "Oh, okay. He wants you to know he misses you, sweetie." Dean glared at her. "He didn't use those words and tone but yeah. Cas? Dean misses you too. We're going to be in Louisiana, I'm sure he'll text you the details when we actually get there. Witch activity. You need to go? Okay, well Dean loves you. See you soon, Bye!" She hung up quickly and chuckled at Dean's expression. "What?" He rolled his eyes and went back to watching the road.

Castiel put the phone back in his pocket in a fit of confusion, then shook it off. He looked up at the Church, tilting his head wondering if the relic was inside. He'd heard rumors that it was but he could not be sure until he could investigate, and it would be imprudent to do so during the day, since he could no longer wander around invisible as he used to. It was one of the drawbacks of having an assigned physical form. He looked around him at the early morning tourists, then turned to leave.

Suddenly, when he reached the corner, he stopped. There was a woman there he recognized taking pictures of the Cathedral. If he hadn't recognized her face, the dragon tattoo on her arm would have been a dead giveaway. As if she felt him there, she chose the moment he was staring at her to look over. He watched the recognition come into her eyes and the smile appear on her face, and sure enough she sprinted over. "Cas?"

He nodded, and she attacked him with a hug. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?" He awkwardly hugged her back, because he thought it was the proper thing to do. "Uh…business," he forced out when she finally moved away.

"Oh…are you hunting something?" She asked excitedly.

"Not exactly." He was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Oh…well are you busy?"

His brow furrowed. "Not at the moment."

"You wanna go get some coffee or something and catch up? Feels like it's been forever."

"It's been five months."

Elli snorted, "You're funny." She put her arm in his, "Come on, let's go get breakfast."


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel sat at the table, stiff and awkward as usual. The waiter came by and set their coffees on the table. Castiel awkwardly thanked him in perfect French. Elli hadn't stopped talking the entire way there and Castiel had not said two words. She paused in the middle of a sentence to thank the waiter and then kept going.

"…so then they ended up putting all of my luggage in the wrong room and it took us forever to track it down because the guy who got it was some perv who was like…sniffing my underwear and washing his hair with my shampoo. I finally got all of my stuff back and I had to get it specially cleaned because I did NOT want to expose myself to any of that mess." Castiel watched her add cream and sugar to her coffee and then sip it. "That Cathedral is just lovely, isn't it? Awesome architectural work, I got so many great shots this morning." She set down her cup and picked up her camera. "Although I'd rather take pictures of you. Where you're sitting the light is perfect." The camera made repeated clicking noises as Cas became increasingly uncomfortable. She finally picked up on it and set the camera back down, picking the coffee back up.

She blew on it then smiled at him. "So what have you been up to?" Castiel carefully considered this question. "Working," was the answer he decided upon.

Elli quirked an eyebrow. "That's it? That's all I'm getting? I mean, granted I understand your work must be sort of…classified but…seriously?" She asked incredulously.

"I am no longer working with Dean. He is on the road with his brother now. I am working independently, searching for items of a sensitive nature that must destroyed. We both have a curse placed upon us that we get everything we want, but as far as I can tell it has yet to have any serious consequences."

Elli nodded, "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" The waiter came by with her order, and it was quiet for a few moments as she cut the first bite off her pastry. "So where's Dean?" She asked.

"On his way to Louisiana at the moment."

"Louisiana's nice. I spent some time in New Orleans taking shots of the French Quarter. Pity how torn up it still is, though." She giggled. "I found this one model there. She was one of those quadroon girls with the tight blond curls and those green and gold eyes…her skin was like…this warm honey color. I took a lot of shots of her and drew her. I needed practice with the female form." She set her coffee down and leaned down, picking up her bag and rifling through it. "I actually think I have some of them…" she pulled a portfolio out and opened it, checking. "Yeah, I do."

She closed it and handed it over to Castiel, who took it from her as she set her bag back on the ground. Elli couldn't help but giggle as she watched his face. "Why, Cas, I do believe you're blushing."

"These drawings are all nudes…"

"Well, yeah…" He closed it and handed it back. Elli placed it in her lap and then went back to eating.

"I could draw you, if you wanted. Not naked, if you have a problem with it."

"I do not believe that would be wise…"

"Really? There's no one you think might like to have a drawing of you around?"

Castiel carefully considered this, and thought that perhaps Dean might want it, or Seraphiel, since she appreciated art. "Maybe. Would it take long?"

"Well, that would depend on how many I ended up doing. You have such wonderful bone structure, it might take me a few tries to capture it properly. But probably not. It would probably be easier if I took a bunch of pictures of you in different poses, then I could use those as a reference instead of making you pose for long periods of time."

"That would be preferable."

"Great so, when we're done here, we'll just go back to my Hotel and have a little photoshoot, unless you'd rather go back to where you're staying."

"I'm not residing anywhere in this city."

Elli's brows furrowed, "What?"

"I do not require sleep, I did not see the point."

She looked thoroughly confused, but then just shrugged it off. "Whatever. My place it is then."

Dean and Meg exited the morgue. Dean thought that Meg looked so weird dressed all professional with her hair pulled back, but she was definitely getting the job done. "So, definitely witches."

"Unless there's another explanation for having a hex bag in your purse."

"I can't think of one." Dean's phone made its text tone and he checked it. "Sam found another one in that guy's bedroom."

"Fantastic. So we get to kill some witches."

"Looks like it."

"The problem is we're in voodoo country, it's going to be pretty hard to find the culprit. Or culprits."

"Guess we're just going to have to be extra careful then," he said as they reached the car.

Castiel appeared at Elli's door, incredibly disappointed. The lead he had been following had not panned out, the relic at the church was a fake. He knocked, several times, until she answered, half naked, groggy and ready to raise hell until she saw who it was, then her eyes widened in happy surprise and the hand holding her robe closed went up to her messy hair. "Cas…what…I thought you had to…"

"I did. My efforts proved unsuccessful and I needed somewhere to pass the time and plan what to do next. You were the first person to come to mind."

They just stared at each other for several moments.

"This is awkward, I should not have come," he said, and then turned to leave. She reached forward and grabbed his arm. "It's fine, come on in." She pulled him inside and shut the door.

The next morning when she woke up he was in the same place he had been, sitting in that chair in the corner of her bedroom, staring off into space. She propped herself up on her elbow and cleared her throat, catching his attention. "Have you been sitting like that all night?"

"Yes," he said flatly, making Elli giggle as she sat up and got out of bed. She stumbled toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. Order us some breakfast or something…unless you want to join me?"

"I do not believe that would be wise."

"What? Worried Dean will get jealous?"

"Yes."

Elli giggled again and started heading for the bathroom, not bothering to close the door and she pulled off the undershirt and shorts she slept in and started up the shower.

Meg was driving the Impala, which was probably giving Dean all sorts of creepy feelings. She had just taken it to go scope out their suspect, and in the process figured out it was someone else, someone that Dean and Sam were currently in the same room with. She kept calling all of their numbers and only getting voicemail, and she was getting frustrated.

Dean took of the coffee Marie handed him, smiling and thanking her, totally not staring at her cleavage while she bent over to hand Sam his. "So you think Izzie killed all of those people?"

"Well, it's…complicated but yeah, we do."

"That's just terrible, I mean…she always seemed like such a nice girl, and such a good healer…"

"People are capable of some pretty surprising things, Ma'am." Dean said, trying to sound respectful, but somehow earning a confused glare from Sam. He just shut up and drank his coffee, and Sam followed suit. Dean felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out, but seeing that it was Meg simply sent it to voicemail. She called back a few moments later and he ignored it again, but then she sent him a text, which he read. It said simply "GET OUT OF THERE."

He showed it to Sam casually, and his breath caught. "Well, we should be going, got a lot of paperwork to do." Sam said awkwardly, and they set the cups down and stood up. Marie stood too, "Are you sure you can't stay? I made cookies…"

"No, no, we shou…" Dean trailed off.

"Dean?" Sam asked, just as he started to blink in an attempt to clear his vision. In a moment they both sank back down to the couch, unconscious.

When Meg burst into the room, Marie was standing over one of them with a knife, and Meg shot her square in the chest. She fell back into the glass coffee table, and Meg rushed over and shot her again in the head.

"You guys are such idiots," she said, sticking the gun in her waistband. "You're lucky I was here to save your asses." She turned around to look at them and staggered. Instead of Sam and Dean, two women dressed in their clothes were passed out on the couch. Meg sighed, "Oh, hell."


	8. Chapter 8

Meg paced the length of the motel room, watching them sleep off the drugs. She had been checking their vitals at intervals to make sure they weren't poisoned, as well, and so far they seemed to be fine. She sighed. How was she going to explain this to them? How were they going to fix it? She'd already called Sera and gave her the heads up, but she said not to let the boys know she had called and not to tell Cas yet. Soething about forcing them to do it themselves so they could properly face it or something psychological like that.

Dean woke up first, suddenly shooting up from the bed like he'd had a nightmare. He let out a breath, the, naturally, looked for Sam. But when he looked over to the bed next to him all he saw was a strange unconscious woman. He started to move, then Meg watched as the confusion came over his face. He looked down, then up at Meg. She could see he was freaking out so she stepped over, taking Dean's face in her hands. "Look at me. Just try to stay calm, alright? I'm going to find a way to fix this."

"But…what…how? Oh God listen to my voice!"

"I know, it's messed up." She let go of him. "I think she was trying to make sure you couldn't be identified. When I got there she was standing over you guys with a knife…you know this wouldn't have happened if you had answered your damn phone." She smacked Dean's arm and he flinched.

"Fine, fine, I'll remember that next time." He looked over at the other bed. "Sam too, then?"

"Yeah. You should be the one to talk him through it, I'll go get you guys some clothes. And some food…" She got up off the bed and headed for the door. As she was leaving he called her name, and she turned to face him. He gave a weak smile and said, "Thanks." She smiled back, and then left.

By the time she got back Sam was awake, and they had apparently had enough time to come to grips with the fact that they were women now. Dean was complaining that Sam got to have bigger boobs.

"It just doesn't seem fair…"

"It's not exactly my fault, Dean."

"Whatever, I think you did it on purpose."

"I brought you guys some clothes," Meg interjected, "And some breakfast." That caught their attention. She set all of the bags on the table. "I tried to guess your sizes and got the closest possible thing to what you normally wear but you know, it's difficult…"

"Thanks," Sam said. Meg leaned her hip against the chair Dean was sitting in. "So, are you guys going to call anyone?"

"Like who?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, Sera? Cas? Some other insanely powerful creature you have on your speed dial that can get you back to normal?"

"I don't think we should tell either of them about this until we figure things out." Dean said.

"What?"

"It's just...this is really embarrassing."

"Yeah, I mean…I'm a Dad. I don't want Sera to see me," Sam gestured around him…her…self, "Like this."

"She wouldn't care," Meg said firmly.

"Yeah, well, I do. Let's just…stick that in our back pocket as a last resort, yeah?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "Boys are so stupid. Fine, I won't tell either of them."

"Thanks, Meg." They said in unison, forcing her to smile. "Alright, well since we aren't going with the easy and obvious solution, what are our options?"

"Did you take a look around the house before you moved us out there? You k now for spellbooks or whatever?"

"I tried but I didn't find anything in the rooms I could access, and there was a line of salt in front of one room that I couldn't cross, one of the drawbacks of being a possessing spirit, I guess."

"Great, now we know where to look."

Castiel looked concernedly at his phone, tilting his head to look at it like he was waiting for it to do something.

"Expecting a call?" Elli asked, and Cas nodded. "Dean usually calls me after he's done a job, or at least to check in. I haven't heard from him in over two days."

"I'm sure everything's fine, Blue eyes. But I think it's cute that you worry so much."

Castiel looked incredibly uncomfortable, and then turned away. "What? Averse to compliments?" Elli asked, and his brows furrowed like he didn't understand. She giggled and grabbed his arm. "Come on, since we've got some free time I wanna show you what I've drawn so far."

She led him over to where she had been working. It was a desk, one of the pictures she had taken of him was taped up in clear view and there was a piece of heavy yellow paper flat on it, pencils and various tools scattered around it. It had taken hour to work him up to it but the picture was of him, shirtless but still wearing the tie, propped up on his elbows on her bed with this come-hither look in his eyes. Of course, that had been the one she had chosen to draw. It was only half done.

"I got stuck trying to draw the curve of your hipbone here." She poked his left one, making him flinch. "That and capturing eye expression have been the hardest on this piece."

"It…looks like me." He said, tilting his head at it. Elli knew that was the closest she was going to get to an outright compliment. "That was my intention," She said, laughing. "I did some other ones of you if you'd like to see them."

He nodded, still incredibly tense. She produced her portfolio. There were three of him added to her collection, two of him sitting in the coffee shop with the "perfect light," and one she had apparently captured while he was in the middle of taking his shirt off. It was mostly of his half-covered back but his face was visible in profile.

"I never realized my hair looked that messy from the back…" Caused Elli to burst into fits of giggles.

"So, how's your work coming?" She asked as he looked through her other drawings again.

"Slowly, but I believe I have located the relic I was searching for."

"Well, that's good. You can go back home to Dean when you find it, right?"

"Perhaps for a night, but there are others. My work is far from complete."

"Well, I hope you make the time you spend together count."

Elli was surprised to see Cas give a wry smile, and then blush deeply. He set the portfolio down and took out his cell phone again. Elli quickly extricated herself from the room to give him some privacy.

Cas's brows furrowed in worry when every phone Dean had went to voicemail. He left the same message on each of them, that he had run into Elli and had things he wished to tell him, and to call him back any time. He tried to play it off, be his normal stoic self, but he was obviously worried and scared. Surely if Dean was in trouble he would have prayed for him, called him, or one of them would have called Seraphiel and she would have said something…what was going on?

Elli came back in with tea, which he accepted and drank out of courtesy but found he liked. He drank three cups.

Meg looked through the book, a laptop at her side to cross-reference things she found confusing with the database Seraphiel had set up. "Well, we're screwed." She finally sighed, snapping the book shut.

Sam looked up from the one he was looking through, a worried and confused look on his pretty and now feminine face. "What? Why?"

"This spell can only be undone by the witch who cast it. There's a similar spell to turn a woman into a man but I am not at the level this bitch was at so gathering everything together and actually getting it done is going to take time."

"How much time?" Dean asked, and Meg snorted. "Sorry, it's just funny hearing your words with a woman's voice. About a month, if we're lucky, at most three if we're not."

"Three months? We're going to be girls for THREE DAMN MONTHS?"

"Women, Deano, And just be lucky I can change you back at all. Of course, we could always just call-"

"Don't even say Cas or Sera, Meg. It's not happening."

"Why not? Sera could probably just hum a few bars of something and get you back to normal."

Dean sighed, and looked at Sam. Meg watched their silent conversation, which took twice as long as normal because they were having trouble reading their new faces. Finally Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he grunted.

Meg took out her phone and hit speed dial one. It only took her half a ring to answer. All she had to do was relay their location. Two minutes later Sera appeared, Thalia on her hip.

"Wow," She said, smiling. "You bitches are hot."

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew. I knew before you did." She gestured around herself, "Have you forgotten who I am?"

Sam got up and stood next to Dean. "Can you fix us?"

"I can try." She handed Thalia off to Meg, who the child was incredibly happy to see. She turned back to them and cleared her throat, and then started to sing in Enochian, when suddenly she doubled over, wrapping her arms around her abdomen and moaning in pain. Sam rushed, over and tried to help her, but she put her hand up to stop him and straightened. "No, I'm fine." She smoothed clothes and shrugged. "Sorry, I'm not allowed."

"It's part of the Divine Plan for us to be girls?"

"Apparently. Meg will be able to fix you though, I'm positive on that part."

"Fantastic."

Sera snorted and then looked at Sam. "I've missed you."

"You too." He said, then looked at his daughter and reached for her. Meg handed her over. He looked into his daughter's eyes fearing that she wouldn't recognize him, that he'd be a stranger to her. Dean looked on, sharing his worry, because he knew that was his brother's worst fear. But in a moment Thalia said "Daddy!" And proceeded to pull at his hair. The communal sigh of relief swept across the room and a smile came over Sam's face.

A little later they were all sitting around, Thalia taking her turns with each of them, playing peek-a-boo and saying each of their names like she was practicing, and showing off that she knew other words too. Suddenly Sera smiled at Sam, and he smiled back, and she turned to Meg.

"Could you two take Tally for ice cream or something?"

"Of course." She said, taking the little Nephilim in her arms.

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Dean, just get the keys," She said, taking the girl out to the car. Dean reluctantly got up and headed for the door. "Have fun," he said before clicking it shut behind him. As soon as they were alone Sera crawled over and planted a kiss on Sam's mouth. He seemed surprised and jumped back.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…weird…I'm a girl."

"A woman, Sam. A hot one. But why should that matter? I missed you."

"It's still weird."

"Sam, I'm an angel…are you saying that if I had to change vessels and ended up being a guy you wouldn't love me anymore?"

"What? No, of course not."

"How is this different?"

Sam stopped to consider it and seemed to realize he was being ridiculous. "That's my girl," Sera said, before leaning in to kiss him again. She ran her hand into his hair and clenched her fist, pulling it slightly. He finally relaxed and got into it, following her lead and scooting back to lie down on the bed. Sera propped herself up over Sam, placing one of her legs between his to spread them.

"Let's break this new body in, shall we?"


	9. Chapter 9

Prudence scooped up some ice cream in the little plastic spoon and fed it to Thalia, glancing over at Dean, who was sitting there and sulking into his apple pie ice cream. "So, you gonna tell Cas?" He looked up and glared at her. "No."

"Why not? You know he's gotta be worried about you, I mean it's been more than two days since you've called."

"I don't care, I don't want him to see me all…"

"Girly? Come on, Dean, that's not going to matter."

Dean full-out pouted.

"I know you were kind of hoping that if one of you got turned into a girl it would be him but that's not how it turned out, and besides this is just temporary. You should stop sulking and take advantage of the opportunities this has given you."

"Like what?"

"Like getting to wear the type of underwear you like without judgment, charm information out of people with your boobs…" She looked at Tally and set the ice cream cup and spoon down so she could cover the little girl's ears. "Call up that super-sexy angel boyfriend of yours and let him fuck you until you have multiple orgasms and end up going completely numb from sensory overload." She removed her hands. "All sorts of stuff."

She picked up the ice cream and started feeding Tally again, until the girl grabbed her hand to stop and said, very firmly, "Prue. No."

"You full, baby?" She asked, and Thalia nodded. "Prue" proceeded to eat the rest, watching Dean silently consider what she had said.

Sam gripped the headboard and moaned out Sera's name. He looked down at her head between his legs, his thighs hitched up on her shoulders with her nails clawing into them. "Have I told you that I love you today?"

Sera lifted her head, a smile on her face. "About ten times in the past thirty minutes, sweetie." She kissed the inside of his thigh. "In fact, you kind of screamed it the first time you came…"

"Well, it's true."

"I know it is, Sammy. I love you too." She went to dip her head down again but Sam let go of the headboard and sat up, pulling away from her. Sera sat up and wiped her mouth, "What's wrong, baby?"

Sam reached out and pulled her to him, planting a soft kiss on her forehead and along her cheekbones. "I just…don't wanna be selfish." He flipped her onto her back, causing her to giggle. "Honey, you're Sam Winchester. I don't think it's possible for you to be selfish."

"That's debatable."

"Not to me, Samsquatch."

"Don't call me that."

"Don't be so damn huge. Seriously how did you manage to turn into a girl and still be over six feet tall?"

"Shut up," He said playfully, before putting his hand between her legs and making her gasp.

Dean looked up to see Prudence smiling at him. It was still weird thinking of her under any name but Meg. "What?"

"You're getting checked out."

He started to look over his shoulder but she stopped him. "Don't look, that's encouragement."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"So you'd know." She looked him up and down. "You're about as hot in this body as you are in your regular one. You should probably prepare yourself for a lot of unwanted attention." She smirked and then took a sip of her drink, "He's coming over."

Dean rolled his bright green eyes, and a second later a guy in a trucker cap and a plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off over his white t-shirt was standing next to the table. He looked thoroughly redneck, down to his boots and torn-up jeans.

"Excuse me," He said in a really thick accent. Dean ignored him, focusing really hard on drinking his coke. Meg just looked amused as she tried to occupy Thalia. When he realized he was being snubbed, he went on his way.

"Jesus that was awkward…"

"Now you know how most women feel on a daily basis. As long as you're female you have to think of every male as a potential predator."

"That's just wrong."

"Yeah, there's a lot wrong with this world, but it is the way it is."

"I don't think I've ever done that though. I mean, I flirt a lot with everyone but that's mostly been to get information…those douchebags actually hit on women who don't encourage them first?"

"Most do."

"Kind of sick."

"Yeah, lookin' forward to three months as a woman now?"

"Definitely not."

"It generally helps if you have a guy with you, especially one that can kick ass."

"I know where you're going with this, and Cas has his own problems to worry about. He can't take time off from his work just to keep me from getting hit on."

"Never know until you ask."

"Just drop it," he said, just as his phone was starting to buzz in his pocket. He took it out, saw that it was Cas calling, and let it keep going until it went to voicemail.

"You know he's worried. You guys haven't spoken in days; he probably thinks you're dead."

"I just…I can't have that conversation."

"Want me to do it?"

"Really don't." The phone started to buzz on the table again, and she snatched it before Dean could stop it, answering it.

"Well hey there Clarence," She said cheerfully. "Yeah, he's fine, calm down. There was just an…incident. Something happened and now he's kind of embarrassed and doesn't want to talk to you until it's over." Dean was glaring at her now. "Three months, give or take. Yeah, I know, it's a long time for something so stupid. Don't worry, it's nothing really all that bad but Dean's being an insensitive idiot and doesn't want me to tell you." Apparently he said something funny, because Meg snorted. She put on a really mocking overly cute voice, "Well, Dean loves you and misses you and your sweet little feathery ass. Good luck finding your relic." She laughed a little before saying "Bye" and hanging up.

"You really should talk to him, Deano. He's worried sick and my word isn't going to keep him on the ropes for long. Keep going like this and he's going to track you down and find out what's going on for himself."

"Bite me."

"Only if you ask nicely."

Castiel looked at his phone and sighed. He had no reason not to trust Meg, he would know if she was lying, but he couldn't help but worry. Elli patted his shoulder and rubbed his back a little, trying to be reassuring. "I'm sure he's fine, cutie. Your sister would call or something if they were in trouble or hurt, right?" He nodded. "Alright then, so stop pouting. You've got work to do."

He didn't stop pouting, but just solemnly nodded again and vanished from beneath her hand. Elli didn't even freak out, stuff like that just seemed normal to her now. She scratched at her dragon tattoo and went back to working on her drawings.


	10. Chapter 10

Dean walked into the motel room, Thalia in his arms, Meg following behind. Sera and Sam were sitting on the bed, Sera shaping Sam's hands around the neck of a bass. Dean's brows furrowed. "What's going on?"

Sam looked up and smiled. "We were talking about instruments and Sera said I had the perfect hands to play bass and I didn't believe her so…she went and got one." He plucked a string. "I've already learned some." He proceeded to start playing out a bass line.

"Wow, um…nice." He placed Thalia back in her carrier. Sera got up off the bed and walked over to Dean. "I was just waiting for you to get back before I left, something I thought I should tell you."

"Yeah?"

"Just thought you should be aware that since these are basically new bodies, your virginity's in tact."

Dean's brows furrowed again, and Sera couldn't help but smile at the confused expression on his feminine face. "How the hell do you know that?"

"Well…Sam was."

Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times like he planned to say something, glanced at Sam's mussed hair and then just decided to stay silent. Meg snorted and just said "Hot."

"Oh, it was," said Sam, and Dean put his face in his hands. Sera tapped him on the arm, trying to be comforting. "Just try not to think about it too much, Deanna." She stepped past him to pick up the carrier and looked at Meg. "Did he tell Cas?"

"Nope."

"So he's decided to be stupid?"

"Extremely."

Seraphiel sighed. "Oh well." She walked back over to Sam with Thalia, and he kissed his daughter's head. "Be good, baby."

"No," Thalia said, and they all broke out laughing.

A few days later they were halfway across the country, and Meg was cutting a bullet out of Dean's shoulder.

"Stop flinching, you girl."

"I can't help it, it hurts." He bit his bottom lip as she poured whiskey into his wound and then pulled the bullet out with a pair of forceps. "There we go."

"Thanks."

"Not done yet, sweetheart. Gotta sew it up."

"When are those painkillers gonna kick in?"

"They were supposed to twenty minutes ago. Now hold still." She got out a suturing kit and opened it up, Sam was sitting on one of the beds a few feet away, holding an ice pack to his swollen face. "Still can't believe they even had guns. What kind of super-strong flesh-eating monsters carry firearms? Just seems unfair."

Dean glared at him, "You got clocked and I got a bullet to the shoulder, don't talk to me about fair." He winced as Meg began to sew him up and his phone started going off on the nightstand. Sam reached for it and answered it.

"Hey…Cas? Yeah, it's me." Dean looked up and started to lunge for the phone but Meg held him still and pressed her thumb against his wound, distracting him with pain enough to submit. "What? Dean didn't tell you? We got turned into girls. Yeah, I know, it's weird, but Meg's working on a way to turn us back." He got up and started stepping over to Dean. "A couple months, won't be that long. Find what you need? Cool. Oh, yeah, I can tell you where we are." He relayed their location. Then he reached Dean. "Yeah, he's…she's…right here." He handed the phone over. "It's your boyfriend."

Dean snatched the phone from him with his good hand. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean put the phone to his ear. "Hey Cas. Dammit, Meg!" He snapped.

"Are you being attacked?" He heard Cas ask, extremely concerned. "No," Dean replied. "She's sewing me up. Got shot in the shoulder."

"So you WERE attacked?"

"Yeah but they're all dead now, so relax. Find your relic."

"Yes. I will be there shortly."

"Please don't."

"Why?"

"I…just…please?"

"You are making me very scared for you, Dean."

"Don't be, I just…" He got stuck. Meg whispered in his opposite ear, "Use your words, Dean."

"I don't like being like this and I don't want you to see me…you know…"

"Female?" He heard Cas say, but not just over the phone. Dean glanced up and Cas was in the room with them. He rolled his eyes and hung up his cell phone. Then he took the time to get a good look at his angel. He was still wearing the trench coat but underneath was wearing a tailored three-piece suit. He looked good. Really, really good. He almost didn't noticed the pain in his shoulder or the pull of the needle and thread through his skin.

"What in the world are you wearing?" Dean asked, trying very hard not to sound starstruck. Cas looked down at himself and looked slightly surprised, as if he had forgotten he was wearing it. "I…ran into Elli. She took me shopping."

"How'd you end up running into her?"

"I was in Paris. She was there working on her art."

Sam looked him over, "Is that why you're carrying a portfolio? Did she draw something for you?" He looked at Dean. "And who's Elli?"

Dean glanced up at Cas and then cleared his throat. "She's a…a friend. From when Cas and I were hunting alone. How is she?"

"She is very well. She is now being commissioned for custom works."

"That's…that's good."

Sam removed the ice pack from his face. "Is she any good?" He started reaching for the portfolio, "Can I see?"

Cas pulled away and tucked the portfolio against his chest. "No. I'm sorry, but these are a gift for Dean."

Sam dropped his hand. "Oh, alright." He looked over at Meg. "You almost done?"

"Just a couple more stitches, then we can go do cleanup."

Cas looked at Dean, then stepped over, setting the portfolio on the table and kneeling before his hunter, the trench coat pooling on the floor beneath him. He reached up and put his hand on the side of Dean's face. Dean wanted to pull away, because Sam was there, but Meg was holding him in place, so he just moved into it. "Are you alright?" The angel asked.

"I will be." He winced. "I'll heal. Always do." He breathed in deeply, bracing himself against the pain that was coming against the final stitch, but breathed in nothing but Castiel. He smelled like apple pie, nothing but cinnamon and sugar and pastry. Dean had never noticed before. It had never registered. He suddenly had the urge to eat him up. Dean bit his bottom lip and looked Cas up and down, and couldn't wait until they were alone.

Meg placed a bandage over Dean's wound and then gestured toward the door at Sam, and they quickly extricated themselves from the room. Dean tried to stop them, because he still wasn't comfortable with Cas seeing him like this. Although part of him wanted to tear Cas's clothes off and see just how flexible this body was, the rest of him couldn't bear to look him in the eye. He got so lost in his inner turmoil that he didn't notice they were alone. Cas was still at his feet, his head tilted, staring wide-eyed at Dean like a curious kitten.

"Who did this to you?"

"Some witch down in Shreveport. Meg thinks she was trying to make us unidentifiable so if anyone found our bodies no one would know…"

"Where is she now?"

"Dead. Meg shot her."

"Good."

Dean blinked, "Wow, never seen you happy over a death before."

"This witch tried to hurt you, and tried to make it so that no one you loved would ever know what had really happened. If I had been there, I would have killed her myself."

A smile made it's way across Dean's face, and he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. Good God, he was actually blushing. He put his hand over Cas's, the one that was still against his cheek. "I know you would have. Because you're a badass and you'd do anything for me."

Castiel leaned up and Dean dipped his head so the Angel could plant a kiss on it. Suddenly all the air he breathed in was Cas and that cinnamon scent. Cas used his other hand to run his finger under the strap on Dean's black undershirt, the one that was now torn and stained with blood. Dean full-out shivered when he felt it graze against his skin.

"I could heal that for you," Cas said, looking at his shoulder. "But I already know you're not going to let me."

"Nope."

"Because you enjoy feeling human, even if that means feeling pain."

"You bet."

Cas gave a weak smile and then pulled away from Dean, standing to pull off his trenchcoat and lay it over a chair. He started to pull off his suit jacket but Dean reached out and grabbed his hand. "Stop."

Cas looked at him curiously as he stood, putting his thumbs beneath the lapels and pushing it back. "I want to do it." The angel let his arms fall to his sides, allowing Dean to push the jacket off and let it fall to the floor. Dean starts to undo the buttons on his vest. "That Elli girl…has some amazing taste."

"So the people in the shops kept saying. I'm not quite sure what that means."

"It means she knows what looks good." Dean pulled the vest off of him and then started pulling his shirt out of his pants. "And can appreciate it properly."

"Does that mean I have good taste?"

"What?"

"You look good, and I appreciate it properly." Cas said flatly, and Dean couldn't help but smile. "You have the best taste, Castiel."

He placed his hands on Cas's shoulders, directing him over to the bed and shoving him down on it. "And so do I." He leaned in and started to kiss his angel, slowly straddling his lap. Castiel put his hands on Dean's waist and pushed him away a little. "Are you sure? You seemed incredibly hesitant to even speak to me in this state…"

Yeah, but that was before he caught Cas's scent. Now he couldn't care less. He looked down at his Angel, so much concern on his face, and smiled.

"I'm positive."


	11. Chapter 11

Sam tossed the last dismembered head onto the pile of miscellaneous dismembered parts as Meg soaked it down with lighter fluid. She looked over at him as she pulled the matchbox from her pocket. "Is that everything?"

Thing, everything. Not everyone. Sometimes Sam couldn't fathom how they coped with all of this. Killing all of these monsters that had once been regular people, or never really had the chance to be anything else. He nodded and she struck three matches at once, dropping them into a pool of fluid and blood, sparking the fire that began to burn away at the dead flesh and bone. Sam tilted his head a bit, watching the light of the fire play off her dyed-blond hair. She was smiling. He still couldn't believe that they were working together. That he was okay with this.

His life had always been strange, and had taken some even stranger turns since he'd returned from hell but this, this was the most unbelievable. That he had put aside all the years of mistrust and malice to allow Meg into their everyday lives just because Seraphiel said so. He trusted the mother of his child so much…

Suddenly he shook himself. Where was this coming from? All of this time in a female body was turning him into a girl. Meg looked over at him and then playfully punched his arm. "Hungry?"

He nodded. "Starving. Let's go somewhere where we can sit down for a while or something, I know we won't be able to go back to the room yet."

They turned and started walking away from the fire as the flames flared from hitting a patch of accelerant. "Anything but burgers and fries, Sam."

"Hey! What's wrong with burger joints?"

"Nothing, it's just pretty much all we've been eating since I hit the road with you guys. Well, that and your stupid salad shakes. I want some variety." She jumped up and down excitedly, "Ooh! How about Thai food? I think I saw a place…"

Sam couldn't help but laugh and look her up and down as she bounced so gleefully as if she were a schoolgirl and not a centuries-old demon-or-something possessing an aspiring actress from Sheboygan. "Calm down, Meg. We'll figure something out. We gotta make sure this fire doesn't spread, though." They reached the Impala and he popped the trunk, pulling a cooler forward and opening it. "In the meantime…beer?"

"You trying to butter me up for something, Sammy?"

"Don't call me Sammy," he said as he popped the cap off a bottle and handed it over.

Dean cried out a little as Castiel grazed his wound while negotiating off his shirt. Castiel knew better by now than to ask again if he was alright, so he just grabbed the fabric and tore until he could gently remove the remnants without lifting Dean's arm or touching his shoulder. Dean smiled at the sound of tearing fabric and Castiel pressed another, gentler kiss to Dean's soft, plush, feminine lips. When he broke it he was nervous, shaky.

"What's the matter?" Dean asked, twisting his fingers in the angel's hair.

"I do not know this body as well, Dean." He hadn't stitched this one together himself cell by cell, had yet to have his hands and mouth over every inch of it. "And with Meg…it was sort of uncontrolled, devoid of care, more focused on ritual than actual act. I can't draw on Jimmy's memories anymore, so…you might have to…"

"Guide you through it?" Dean said, and Castiel nodded. He didn't mind teaching the angel a thing or two. If he could, he'd keep him naïve, awkward and eager to please forever. It was one of Dean's favorite parts of the whole business, being able to teach him new things. He started popping open the buttons on Cas's new dress shirt. "Well, I haven't used it all that much either. We can figure it out together, yeah?" Castiel pulled off the shirt as Dean started to lift his arm to push it off him, because he saw him wincing. "I wanted to do that…" He said, exaggerating a pout like he'd seen so many girls do.

"I don't want you to injure yourself further, Dean."

"It's my body, and it's not even permanent…"

"Still."

Dean bent his head to press it against the Angel's, slowly sliding his hands to wrap around his back, and Cas did the same, placing his hands on the small of Dean's back, pulling him a little closer. He realized he would be happy just to stay like this, holding each other, topless, breathing in that cinnamon scent and feeling the warmth of the Angel's skin against his own. If, of course, he hadn't started running his fingers along Dean's spine, which before had not been that big of a deal, he did it all the time when they were alone. Maybe he was more sensitive in a female form, or maybe this body just had different trigger points, either way Dean was now shivering beneath his fingertips.

Cas tilted his head and kissed across Dean's jawline, done his neck, lingering with his tongue over his pulse. Dean inhaled sharply and his eyes fluttered closed. Cas moved back up and nibbled on his ear, "Elli took me to the movies, and there was something I saw…I would like to try now." He started moving his mouth down again until Dean had to pull back a little so the angel could keep planting kisses down his chest.

"Hey, your instincts are running pretty good so far…" He said before cutting himself off and biting his bottom lip. The angel was kissing at the soft flesh of his newly-formed breasts, which Dean could handle until he planted his mouth and dragged his tongue slowly over his nipple, sucking a little. If it were possible, in that moment Dean would have melted into butter.

Sam texted with Sera while Meg twisted some noodles around her fork. "How's the wife?"

"She's good. Tally's on full sentences now."

"Criminy that girl is growing faster than a weed," She managed to get out before stuffing her face with Pad Thai. "She still setting things on fire?" She asked as soon as she was able.

"No, thank God, that phase was incredibly short. Sera says she freaked a delivery guy out the other day by telling him his girlfriend was cheating."

"I can already tell you that there's going to be a lot of that. I mean, not only is she a Nephilim but she got dosed up with demon blood harder than you ever were, and you were strong enough to kill Lilith. I can't even bear to think about what that baby girl is going to get up to."

"Nothing. I mean, obviously she's going to be a badass but…no, she's going to learn from my mistakes. I won't let her fall for it."

"Yeah but you can't know…not for sure. The only person who knows absolutely what is going to happen to her is Seraphiel and she's not going to tell you or do anything to stop it, unless God tells her it's okay. She doesn't breathe without express permission."

Sam furrowed his brow as he continues texting. He always knew that Sera was under God's orders but surely not _everything _she did was under God's command. She was so conflicted over pursuing anything with Sam in the first place because it was forbidden, she fought so hard and swallowed the ends of half her sentences. Surely there must be a few things that were just HER. Not divine command or her Angelic Duty or whatever, but just plain Sera. There had to be. If she really was just this mechanical thing, then what the hell had Sam really fallen in love with?

All this was going through his head in seconds. Maybe forcing himself not to think about it for so long was making them run quicker. In fact, he'd gotten close to the breaking point by the time Meg articulated her next sentence. "I mean, if she had her own free will Lucifer would have taken over Heaven in the beginning and this would be a whole different ball game."

This piqued his interest. Dean, Castiel and well…everyone had kept the story of Seraphiel's role in the fall from him. With good reason. Sam sent his text and then leaned forward. "I'm sorry, what?"

At that moment a man approached the table but before he even started to talk Sam and Meg simultaneously said "Not Interested." As he walked away from the table Sam heard him mutter something along the lines of "Fucking lesbians…"

He turned his attention back to Meg, who was munching on some bean sprouts. "Now, you were saying?"

Meg realized that she said something that she shouldn't have, something that those nearest to him had chosen to keep a secret, but it was too late to go back now. "Well, in the beginning blah blah blah, Lucifer and Seraphiel were like this," she crossed her fingers. "He was the most beloved angel, she was the most trusted. When Lucifer tried to gain ground to overthrow heaven, Seraphiel agreed to help him, but when the time came, she couldn't, because God controls her every move. So Lucifer lost the vital weapon of an Angel that can control all other angels and so ended up kicked down to the pit. At least that's what the big guy told me when we were strategizing and he was trying to track her down."

"You heard this…from Satan?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you remember his amazing knack for storytelling." She ate some more noodles. "That's why Seraphiel traffics with demons so much. I guess she feels responsible for our creation since she gave Lucifer so much hope."

There was silence as Sam sat back and mulled this over and Meg finished off her dinner. Sam ended up having to pack his food up and take it home later, as after this little conversation he couldn't bear to eat. "Hey," She said, "You wanna go catch a movie or something? I mean all things considered it's still kinda early…"

"Meg it's almost midnight."

"Early for our type, I mean, and I can guarantee you that we cannot go back yet."

"Ugh…I hope they at least have the courtesy not to do it on my bed."

Dean was resting on his uninjured side, his eyes closed and breathing in Castiel's scent. He wasn't asleep, but he appeared to be, and could feel those wide blue eyes staring at his wounded shoulder, felt the light touch of fingers on his arm. "I said no, Cas," he grumbled without opening his eyes.

"Have you not yet had your fill of pain, Dean?"

"Never."

The sex had exceeded his expectations. Sure, he knew that losing physical virginity was unpleasant for women 99.9% of the time but all things considered it had been pretty amazing. Castiel was very considerate, had taken things slowly and carefully because of the bullet wound and various bruises and didn't seem to realize the circumstances until the actual penetration went down. He had wanted to stop when he realized, but Dean had made him keep going. The fact that they were already experienced helped quite a bit.

Knowing that he could not get away with healing Dean, Castiel's fingers slowly trailed down, moving from Dean's arm to the curve of his waist and finally resting his hand on his hip. "I'm glad the transformation kept some things the same."

Dean gave a sleepy sort of smile, still not opening his eyes, "Like what?"

"You have the same number of freckles, and your eyes are still exactly the same."

"I still can't believe you count my freckles."

"It's the only way to be sure you're real." Dean opened his emerald-green eyes then. "What?"

"Shapeshifters and Leviathans are good at mimicry but sometimes they miss the details, because most people don't notice the details, but I can always tell when it's really you."

"Because of my freckles?"

"Impersonators never have the right number." Castiel was now completely on his side as well, facing dean, pulling him a little bit closer and placing their foreheads against each other, their noses touching. "So how many are there?"

"Over your entire body? 1,589." Castiel smiled, "Which, coincidentally, was the number of days between the day I raised you from perdition and the date of our consummation."

"Really?"

"It is strange, is it not? Almost like it was fated."

"I don't believe in fate."

"No, you just believe in defying it."


	12. Chapter 12

Dean carefully handled the drawings, looking them over while Castiel was getting dressed a few paces away from the bed. He was sitting with a sheet wrapped around him and the portfolio open before him on the bed, multiple drawings and photographs of Castiel in different mediums, and one that was a painting. Dean looked up at the Angel as he was buttoning up his shirt, smiling. "You posed for all of these?"

"I had a little time to spare and Elli…suggested that you might like them, so I allowed her to dictate my positions." He tucked his shirt in and the picked his belt off the floor. Dean laughed, "Well, I'm glad she did. These are really nice." He picked up another one, "You'll have to take them home after this, store them in our room, keep them safe." He looked up and turned the one he was holding around, "Maybe give this one to Sera. Have her put it on display."

Cas buckled his belt and leaned over, taking his tie from around Dean's neck. "Whatever you wish to do with them is fine with me, Dean." Dean smiled and started putting them away, wrapping the string and tying it to keep it closed. "Thank you, and thank Elli again if you see her, they're awesome."

He sat up on his knees, the sheet falling aside, reaching out to put his tie on and straighten it, wincing slightly as he stressed his injured shoulder. Cas pretended not to look concerned. "So, when you stop and visit Sera, tell her to send me more pictures of Tally. I know she has them, and tell her to call me so we can set up a night to video chat because Sam misses her. He's not going to say anything but I can't stand him sulking all the time." Dean pulled him in by the tie and pressed a kiss to his mouth. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I will miss you more," he said in his usual serious tone, muttering against Dean's mouth. Dean laughed and kissed him again, Castiel wrapping his arms around his waist. "I should be going and I…I just got dressed," He breathed.

"Mhm,"

"But I suppose," he spoke between kisses, "I could stay a little longer."

Dean nibbled his bottom lip, "No, you should go. Important…very important things to do…"

Castiel pulled him close and one hand drifted up to fondle a breast, "Yes, incredible importance. World could end."

"World's always ending," Dean whispered, and that was encouragement enough. Cas gained on him and soon had him pinned to the mattress. "Dean, we…we shouldn't…"

"Of course we shouldn't," he moaned, "It's wrong, and you have a mission…"

"Yes, I am an Angel of the Lord."

"So," Dean said, nuzzling against him and nibbling on his ear, "Teach me how to pray."

Sam and Meg were leaning on the car, Meg sucking on the straw stuck into a plastic cup she had gotten at the movie theater. Sam was reading a newspaper beneath the streetlamp. He looked toward the door. "Think it's safe to go in yet?"

Meg shook her head. "He's still in there, I can feel it." She sucked down the last of her Coke and tossed the cup in the nearest trash can. "Any other ideas for stuff to do?"

"No, let's just wait." He rolled his eyes. "Really wish I had thought to grab my laptop." He folded up the newspaper. "Then, maybe we could have found another job while we waited."

Meg kicked a pebble and then her brows furrowed as she looked up. "What's up?" Sam asked.

"Something just occurred to me…" She turned on her heel to face him. "What if he gets pregnant?"

"What?" Sam asked, laughing.

"It's not funny, Sam. It could happen. Dean's a woman now, and it's not like Cas got to take Sex Ed in junior high or something he's not going to know how to be cautious."

"Come on, Meg that's not-"

"Don't tell me it's not going to happen, Sam, look at our track record. We need to talk to him as soon as we can about this or we're going to have another Nephilim on our hands."

"Guess we should get Dean on the pill…"

"That's not going to do any good up against an angel, sweetie. We're gonna need a little extra help."

"What do you…?" Sam started to ask but cut himself off when he saw the look on Meg's face. They had a silent conversation with their eyebrows until the look of realization came across his face. "I am NOT asking Sera to give my brother angel-proof contraceptives."

"It's that or risk having a little niece or nephew with a halo and a cosmic price on its head. Plus an extra few months of having a sister."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, and Meg gave him a moment to mull it over. "Fine," He said finally, "But I'm not going to be the one to bring it up. He still thinks I don't know, and I think he likes it that way."

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, I know, but he's my brother, and I know how he operates. He thinks that I'll think less of him, which will make him think less of himself, and he doesn't want to risk that. He doesn't want to look me in the eye and see that I know how he truly feels about Castiel, even if the look is one of support and acceptance."

"Your brother has some serious issues."

"Yeah, well, he is what he is. Best I can do is accommodate it and pretend like I haven't known all along. Makes it easier not to think about it, anyway."

"Don't blame you, since it's your sibling and all." Meg said, but then she smiled, "Personally, though, I like thinking about it. Keeps me warm at night while I sleep locked up in the back seat of the car."

"Okay, you're officially passing into the Realm of Too Much Information."

"All that scruff and rough skin, calloused hands grazing and grinding against each other…" Meg saw how much it was grossing him out, to the point where he actually covered his ears and started to walk away, so she kept going.

"Kissing each other, all hot, wet intensity with tongues and teeth," she got a little louder and chased after him. "Those thick, plush lips of your brother's kissing their way all across Castiel's absolutely angelic body…" Sam actually started making the "Lalalala" noise to cover her up. She jumped on his back and forced his arms down, unable to contain her laughter. "Finally that soft, warm mouth of his undoing Castiel's dress pants with his teeth and lovingly working his hard, throbbing…"

"Okay, enough!" Sam screamed, squirming. "Uncle, alright? Just…cut it out you're going to give me nightmares."

Meg giggled and let him go, rolling her eyes and sighing. "Fine. Ruin all my fun." She walked back over to the car and leaned on it, still quietly chuckling at intervals.

Dean was finally getting dressed now, with a little assistance from Castiel due to his injured shoulder. Cas looked at the bandage now half-covered by the strap of an undershirt and sighed. Dean playfully punched him with his good arm. "No, Cas."

"But-"

"NO." Castiel sighed again and picked up the portfolio. He put an arm around Dean's waist and pulled him close to kiss him goodbye in the romantic way he'd seen in films. Dean smiled and blushed when he pulled away, "I will see you soon, Dean."

"I hope so, Cas."

They smiled at each other briefly, and then Cas quickly reached out two fingers and touched his forehead before vanishing. Dean's pain and discomfort quickly melted away. He reached and ripped the bandage off and even the blood that had been on it was gone. "Oh, you son of a bitch!" He screamed at the ceiling, before collapsing down on the bed and dissolving into laughter.


	13. Chapter 13

Meg sat in a chair with her feet propped up on a table, reading a fashion magazine with a disgusted look on her face while Sam and Dean slept not too far away. She was waiting for the inevitable, the day one of them would wake up in a pool of their own blood and freak out. She actually had a running bet going with Sera about which one would get hit first. Sera said it would be Sam while Meg was positive it would be Dean, and she should have known better than to bet against someone who knew the future down to the last detail but she couldn't resist.

Sam stirred first, groaning. His hair was a mess and his eyes remained hooded. He looked at Meg, sort of questioning. "There's fresh coffee on the counter, gorgeous." Sam grumbled and threw his sheets aside, stumbling awkwardly towards the coffee pot. She snorted as she observed him, seeing his v-neck sleepshirt didn't fit quite the way it had the night before. He was bloated, and a little flushed. He absent-mindedly rubbed at his abdomen like it hurt and cursed as he spilled half the coffee he tried to pour onto the counter.

Cursing, he cleaned it up, and Meg figured she owed Sera that fifty bucks. Dean woke up in his usual mood, asking Sam if there was coffee. Sam, naturally, snapped at him, and then apologized. "Sorry, hell. I don't know what's wrong with me." Meg snorted and then dissolved into giggles. They both glared at her. "Something to add, Meg?" Dean asked. Meg forced herself to stop laughing and cleared her throat. "Think about it. How long have you guys been female?"

"26 days." Sam said, in the usual flat, casual way he seemed to always recite facts.

Meg grinned. "Good girl. Now, what happens to Human women every 28 days or so?"

They both put on quizzical expression, but Sam was the first to go wide eyed with something like fear. "No."

"Oh, yeah, cutie."

"Screw that." He said, crossing his arms and bitchfacing hardcore. Meg got up and set her magazine down. "Relax, I'll walk down to the store and get you girls some supplies. We're safe to stay here a couple more days." She looked at Dean, who still seemed to be trying to figure it out, and snorted, grabbing the keys and walking out. Sam went back to making his coffee and started to drink when Dean snapped and yelled "I got it!" Making Sam jump and drop the coffee mug. It shattered on the tile and hot coffee splattered on his feet. He cursed, loudly, and then crouched down to try and clean it up only to awkwardly end up falling over. Dean watched as he sort of curled into a ball holding his stomach and started sniffling.

"Are you…are you crying?"

"No," Sam said, his voice cracking.

When Meg returned, Dean was standing in the doorway of the bathroom brushing his teeth and Sam was still on the floor. Meg set the bags down on the table and then walked over to him, crouching down and brushing hair out of his face. "You okay Sammy?"

Sam shook his head.

"What happened?"

"I broke the coffee mug."

"That's okay, it's the hotel's anyway."

"No, but I broke it. Just like I break everything. I mess everything up. I brought on the Apocalypse, and there was the demon blood and I couldn't save Jess and when it came down to it I couldn't save Sera when she needed me either I'm always too late and I break everything I touch…" He kept going but from then on it was mostly incoherent blubbering. Meg pulled him up into a sitting position and started petting his hair, shushing him and recounting all the wonderful things he'd done to save the world.

"That's just the hormones talking, Sammy. I know it's a bit overwhelming and it seems like you're getting flooded with years of them at once but you've got to pull yourself together, alright?" She kept petting him and eventually he stopped crying. "That's my girl. You want some chocolate?" Sam nodded quietly and wiped his face with his t-shirt. Meg got to her feet and caught Dean snickering at them. "Just you wait, Deano. You'll be next."

"Yeah, right." He said before turning around to spit in the sink. He spoke a little louder as he finished up and started rinsing. "I don't know what the big deal is. I mean if billions of women can just walk around and do their jobs and stuff all the time it can't be that hard to deal with."

Meg started pulling things out of the grocery bags. "You know, even when I was evil I didn't want to stab you as much as I do right now." She laughed and opened a package of Hershey bars, taking one over to Sam and opening it for him as his hands were shaking. "But I won't, because in a day or two Mother Nature's going to do it for me."

Sam sat on the bed, a heating pad on his back and a glass of cranberry juice in his hand. Even though he was cramping pretty bad, he wasn't bleeding yet and he wondered how it could possibly get worse. Meg already walked both of them through the proper use of pads and tampons, and the importance of hydration and how moving around a bit tended to help. Sam had opted for the other option, popping a couple muscle relaxers and some Motrin and trying to ignore Dean's snide comments. Meg was brushing and braiding his hair.

Dean was sitting on the edge of his bed, texting wildly. Sam rightfully assumed it was Castiel and fought the urge to sink to Dean's level and tease him about his angel boyfriend.

"You know, I spent 180 some-odd years in Lucifer's Cage, and I think that this is actually worse."

"Oh, don't exaggerate."

"I'm serious. Give me Satan any day, this is torture."

"Well," Meg said, "Don't worry. It'll be over soon enough. In like…four days to a week."

"A week?!"

"Yeah, believe me, I know." Dean's phone buzzed and Meg glanced over, wondering what he and Cas were talking about. She finished off the braid and stroked Sam's shoulder's like she was a mother taking care of her sick child. "That feel better?"

"Yeah, actually." He pulled it around and felt on it, then set his glass down and awkwardly got off the bed, slamming his knee into a nightstand and then walking it off towards the bathroom and clicking the door shut. Meg got up and jumped onto Dean's bed, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder, trying to read the text messages. "Texting your boyfriend there, precious?"

He tried to shrug her off and failed. Meg smiled at the blood pooling in his cheeks. "Shut up."

She successfully caught a glimpse of what he was typing. "Trying to plan a date for his next time off? That's so sweet. You guys haven't even had a real one, have you? I mean the proper dress-up, fancy dinner, maybe a movie type thing. You haven't been able to move your chair to a different side of the table so you can be closer, have never slipped your hand onto his thigh in a public place…"

"I'm serious, stop it."

"Haven't been able to get all lovey-dovey in a booth or made out in the back of a darkened movie theater or held hands walking down the street…"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Because you have this deep internalized homophobia and you're scared of what people will think of you if you do it normally, so you're planning it while you two are able to be a 'normal' couple…"

Dean was breathing heavy, getting angry. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Tell me something Dean, and be honest. Not just me, but with yourself. Would you be planning to go out with him in public and be touchy-feely if you were still male?"

Dean already knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it. He'd always been outwardly tolerant. Hell, more than that, considering how many people thought he was gay over the course of his life. His policy had always been that as long as it was two consenting human adults that it was no one's business unless they chose to share, but deep down in his core he had always been afraid. It wasn't his voice in the back of his head, never his own conscience nagging at him, but rather his father's. The Great John Winchester, the ex-marine. The man who had only truly risen his hand to hit him once, when he was in sixth grade and admitted to having fluttery feelings over a fellow male student in one of his classes. He didn't follow through, but the reflexive action had been enough to show how he felt about the issue.

If he thought about it, which he had tried not to, Dean had always been bi-inclined. Even though Cas was the only male he had been with in the physical sense, the majority of the people in his life that he had loved, really and truly deeply loved, had been men. The exception to that was Cassie. He had tried so hard to ignore it, but Meg had a tendency of bringing his issues to the surface. His father's voice, or rather just the feeling of those hard glares and the cold silence the weeks following his admittance of a crush, rose up in him again. He had always tried so hard to be like him that he had completely buried his own identity.

A sound similar to fabric tearing tore him from his internal battle. He and Meg both looked toward the bathroom. He felt Meg's chuckle. When Sam finally emerged Dean looked away and went back to texting, but Meg held fast to him, sort of rocking against him as she looked toward Sam. "Blood?"

Dean winced a bit and didn't look up, but he could tell Sam nodded. His phone vibrated in his hands with Castiel's reply. It was simply a smiley face emoticon, which brought the true expression to Dean's countenance without a thought. Screw whatever his father would think. The angel made him happy, and that was the end of it.


	14. Chapter 14

When Dean got up in the middle of that night to pee, he found his underwear were stained with blood. He cursed, rifling through the duffle bag on the floor for a fresh pair and unwrapping a maxi pad.

After getting things in order, he moved to the sink to wash his hands, glancing up and into the mirror. He hadn't really looked at himself much since he'd changed. He turned off the water without looking down and tilted his head at his reflection, like Cas always seemed to do when he wanted to understand something better. He figured he looked more like his mother than he previously did, but most of his features had stayed the same but had just…softened. His eyes seemed larger in proportion to his face then they had, he put his fingers to his lips and pressed on them. Had they always been this puffy? He looked like he had been overdosed with collagen, it was nuts.

He sort of traced his new features. He had gotten so used to his old face it was like he didn't notice it. He stepped back to look the rest of himself over and then shrugged in assent, his final judgment being that yeah, if he'd met this body on the street he'd bang it. He walked out, flipping off the light and trying to step as lightly as possible so as not to wake Sam. He and Meg were curled up together because Sam had fallen asleep first and Dean hadn't had the heart to kick her out after she had been so helpful.

He flipped the covers back and slid into his bed, curling up beneath the sheets and trying hard to fall asleep. It was hard to get comfortable, his abdomen cramping and certain parts incredibly tender, but eventually Dean was able to twist into a position that let him sink into sleep.

He was woken up the next morning by the door slamming shut. Meg was coming in with breakfast and proper coffee. The TV was on the news and Sam was on his laptop, presumably searching for a case. Dean groaned and ran a hand into his hair. "Any luck?"

"No, nothing yet."

Dean sat up and was immediately handed a paper cup of coffee from Meg, who had appeared from nowhere. Meg sat on the bed, facing Sam and handing Dean sugar packets and then a wrapped breakfast sandwich as she spoke. Dean thought she was turning out to be an excellent personal assistant. "You know, we're only a day and a half's drive from home. We should head there until you guys find a case. I can go look for the supplies I need, you can see Sera and Tally, sleep in your own beds, eat some decent food."

Sam turned around in his chair. "You know, that's not a bad idea. It'd be a hell of a lot easier waiting out this…situation at home as opposed to on the road."

Dean groaned and nodded. "Okay, yeah, sure, let's go home." Where he had a portfolio full of Castiel in various states of undress hidden in the dresser and his own bedroom with a door that locked.

"Sweet. I'll pack us up, you girls just focus on getting clean. I don't want to be trapped in a hot car for thirty-six hours with a couple of women excreting large amounts of hormones." She stood up and after giving Sam his food and coffee, started packing all of their things into duffle bags. Dean finished his breakfast and got up, groaning, heading to the shower.

The thing Dean hated most about being a girl was the grooming. His hair had come in longer but he'd immediately wanted to cut it all off. He hated brushing it, figuring out how to wear it, it was just a bother. He just threw it up into a ponytail and hoped he could get Sera to cut his like she had cut Sam's before.

He slammed the trunk shut and then got into the driver's seat, starting up the car. His phone vibrated in his pocket just as he was pulling out of the spot and Meg reached into his jacket and answered it before he even had a chance. "Hey, Cas."

Dean saw her get that wry smile she got that meant Cas had been just as confused as ever. "Yeah, he's driving, and side-glaring daggers at me, if you must know." She giggled, "Yeah, he's in a bad place today. So is Sam, it's a bit of a mess, just so you have a heads-up." Dean and Sam both huffed. Meg kept talking for a while until Dean got on a good stretch of empty road.

"Alright, we're good, I'll hand you over now. Love you, Clarence." She handed the phone over to Dean.

"Hello Dean."

"Hey Cas. How's it going?"

"I am in acceptable condition. My search for the next relic is going well. Meg said that you and Sam are in a 'bad place.' Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. We're sort of in between jobs so we're heading home right now for some family time."

"I will attempt to make an expeditious return to meet you there." Dean snorted from trying not to laugh. "Thanks, Cas, I'd like that. See you soon, yeah?"

"Yes, that is what I hope for."

"You wanna talk to Sam?"

"Yes, of course." The Angel said, and dean handed the phone back to his brother. They talked for a good twenty minutes, mostly about Thalia, before they finally hung up.

It was night when they reached the house, the lights on in most on the bottom floor windows. They could see Sera in the library, and it looked like she was dancing with Tally. They could hear muffled music coming through the walls when they got out of the car. More than the feeling that he was home was the warm feeling he got seeing the smile on Sam's face. He never thought he'd ever see his brother that happy again.

After much hugging, greetings, and putting Thalia to bed, they sat down to dinner. Dean eyed his glass of wine warily. "Something wrong, Dean?" Sera asked.

"The last time you gave me wine I ended up crumpled on the floor, doubled over in pain and I started seeing angels everywhere. I've still got spidey-sense."

"Well, I promise, there's no angel blood in this. It's just a little something I lifted from a certain someone's wine cellar." She showed Prudence the label. She took it from her and her eyes got wide, "This is the year we met." She looked up, "Where the hell did you get wine that's older than the United States?"

"A woman never reveals her secrets, Pru." She said as she took a drink. "Mm, that is good stuff."

They started catching up, though Sam kept Sera pretty well informed via texting, calling, and video chat there was still plenty to talk about. Sam kept groaning every once in a while and at some point Sera sidled over and placed her hand on his stomach, easing his cramps. Sam audibly sighed in relief and Dean was struck with a sudden longing as he saw his brother rest his head against Sera's shoulder. He was longing for his own angel, for that love and companionship and the relief that could be brought by a single touch.

Suddenly he felt a shift in the air and the empty chair next to him was filled. Castiel was dusted all over with sand and set a box that rattled like it carried pebbles or bones within it's wooden shell on the table. He looked over at Dean, who had laughed nervously and found that a smile had plastered itself onto his face and wouldn't go away. "Hello Dean." The angel said. He leaned over and whispered low to where only Dean could hear. "I felt you call me. Is something wrong?"

The Hunter shook his head. "Not now, no." He gestured towards the box. "What's that?"

"The bones of a disciple." He looked Dean over. "You are in pain." He began to reach over and place a hand on Dean's abdomen, but Dean stopped him. "Not…not here," He whispered. They were incredibly close now, their foreheads touching as they whispered to each other. Dean glanced guiltily over at Sam, who didn't seem to care. He had Sera's arms around him as they talked to Prudence and seemed to just ignore the fact that Castiel had arrived and dropped a box of bones on the table. Dean gave Cas an Eskimo kiss and released the death grip on his hand. The angel touched him and relieved his pain and Dean's eyes fluttered down as let out an almost orgasmic sigh.

"Thank you," He breathed, smiling. He pulled away a bit and so did Cas, straightening in their seats. Dean cleared his throat and caught everyone's attention. "So…is there pie?"


	15. Chapter 15

Dean was trying to sleep, but he couldn't. He felt hot and cold at once and his back was sore. He was lying on his stomach because lying on his back hurt and he felt like he was getting choked to death by his breasts, which he still hadn't gotten used too. The door creaked open and he only had to see the shadow on the wall to know who it was. Castiel walked into the room and clicked the door shut. He could hear the slight rustle of clothing and when he readjusted his position to look over at Cas as his weight began to settle on the mattress next to him he saw that the angel was only in his blue pinstripe pajama pants.

"How'd destroying the relic go?"

"It is done. There were no complications." The angel slid beneath the sheets and laid on his side towards Dean.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I know you don't sleep."

"I am aware, but I wish to spend as much time as I can with you before I must depart again. Do you not want me here?" He started to sit up, like he would bolt if Dean even hinted at an affirmative. Dean reached out and placed his hand over the Angel's. "I didn't say that." He squeezed it. "I'm glad you're here."

Cas laid back down, reaching a hand out, running it down Dean's sore back and relieving his pain yet again. "Turn over," He said softly, and Dean complied, turning over to lay on his back. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he felt Castiel's hand drift over him, from over his neck down to his thighs. The pain just melted away. "I wish there was a way I could take it away for good." He whispered as it began to drift back upwards, slipping his hand up Dean's soft cotton sleepshirt and settling on his belly, "But technically, this is not an injury, there is nothing more I can do."

Dean breathed his words as he relaxed, "This is more than enough." He forced his tired eyes open to look at the angel. "Much better than trying to choke down all that Midol." He ran a hand through the angel's hair and yawned.

"Sleep now," Castiel said firmly, "You need your rest. I will remain with you."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"I cannot promise that, but I will stay as long as I can. Would you like me to wake you if I am called away?"

"It'd be better than waking up alone."

Castiel pulled Dean into his arms and kissed his forehead. "Then I shall wake you." His hand moved from Dean's middle to stroke his face, gently pulling his heavy eyelids down. "Sleep now." It did not take long for him to comply.

Sam had his arm stretched across his daughter to rest on Sera's waist. Thalia had wandered into their room around the time they were getting ready for bed, insisting upon sleeping with them. Sam thought it was cute. He never really got the chance to do that. He always shared a bed with Dean and John insisted on solving every possible nightmare with guns. He lifted his eyes and whispered towards Sera in the dark. "You still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Does she always sleep with you?"

"Sometimes. Mostly when she's scared or there are other people in the house. For some reason all of the wards and precautions don't make her feel very safe."

He wanted to talk about all of the things Meg had made him think about, all of his doubts. He wanted to bring up the fact that she had no free will, wanted to know if this whole thing was just part of some weird cosmic plot to make him Heaven's bitch again. He'd been having nightmares lately, nightmares about the pit. He was never going to succumb to someone else's plan again. But, lying there with her and his daughter, warm and cuddled all together and feeling so much love, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that Sera probably knew everything he was thinking in this moment, too. He could sense it. Finally, the only thing he could force out was a quiet "I love you."

Dean groaned and opened is eyes to meet a pair of bright blue ones, reflecting the dull sunlight coming from the shaded window. He glanced around and realized it was morning, and Castiel was still there. He smiled at him, "You're still here."

"Yes, I am." Castiel said, furrowing his brow as if confused as to why Dean was stating the obvious. He looked down at the hand that was still rested on Dean's stomach. "You are hungry." He gestured toward the door, "Sam and Sera are making pancakes downstairs."

Dean snorted, "Yeah? Where's Pru?"

"She's running an errand. I heard her leave earlier this morning. She will be alright though, demons can't see her and angels have more important things to do, and she can kill everything else without assistance." His hand drifted up to over Dean's heart. "I can sense you are concerned. She has become quite the ally then?" A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, "You have gotten over your jealousy?"

"She has proven o be…useful and conditionally trustworthy. In fact, she has saved our lives more than once." He felt his pulse quicken beneath Castiel's fingers. "What are you sensing now?"

"You are suffering." He said, with a certain amount of concern. "Suffering from a physical craving." He leaned in and brushed against Dean's cheek as he pressed his lips to his ear. "Would you like me to ease it?"

Dean swallowed hard and nodded. A second later the angel's mouth was on his, his constant stubble scratching at the soft skin of Dean's face. "It is not advisable," he said between kisses, "For females in your condition to participate in carnal activities. But," his hand began to drift down again. "I may be able to provide you with some relief."

He pulled away just enough for Dean to look down at what he was doing. Light began to radiate from his palm. "What would you call it?" He asked, looking at Dean, "A…fringe benefit?" Dean began to feel it. It was stronger than the relief from before, it was pure pleasure. He began to bite his lip to muffled his moans, and Castiel decided to solve that problem by claiming Dean's mouth with his own.

Sam made his way up the stairs to knock on the door and let Dean know that breakfast was ready. He stopped in front of Dean's door and raised his hand to knock, but stopped short. He was hearing some very distinct sounds. Heavy breathing, the rustling of twisting fabric from someone writhing in bedsheets, some intermittent muffled moaning. He decided to step away and just head back downstairs. He wondered how much longer he was supposed to act like he didn't know. It was getting exhausting.

When he got downstairs, Sera took one look at his face and giggled as she continued setting the table. "They were making out, weren't they?" Sam nodded. "Did you walk in on it or did you just hear them?"

"I just heard it. Walked away without knocking."

"Good boy. Now go get your daughter cleaned up for breakfast, she keeps playing down in the basement."

Sam's brow furrowed in concern. "The basement? There's weapons and junk down there…not to mention the normal concerns of cleaning supplies, tools…splintered wood…"

Sera laughed. "I think we're good, Sammy. Our Tally's got a pretty good handle on stuff like that."

Despite her casual and rather flippant reassurance, Sam turned and rushed downstairs, stopping short when he caught sight of his daughter, her hand on the door of the panic room. He marveled still at how fast she was growing. Not even a year old and already she looked to be on the far side of three. She was stroking the iron door for a minute before she spoke without even looking at him.

"A lot of bad things happened here, didn't they Daddy?" She dragged her nails down it. "Bad things to you. Because of the dark-haired lady with the Red name, and then because of Uncle Cas and Uncle Dean…and Az…Azra…Azrael." She struggled over the pronunciation of the final name. "Death. Death shoved the light back into you."

She looked back at him and tears were sneaking out of her eyes, despite how hard she seemed to be fighting it. He stepped over and picked her up, and she hugged his neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he stroked her hair. "It's all okay now, Tally." He didn't have to ask her how she knew. She could probably read the imprint or had the ability to see the history of an object by touch, there was no way of telling. He did know that she needed him.

"Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?"

"Getting your light back. You screamed."

"Maybe, I kind of blacked out, I don't remember much. Now come on, dry those tears and I'll tell you all about it later, yeah? It's time for breakfast and you're all dirty." He hitched her onto his hip to make it easier to carry her and took her up the stairs. She immediately quit sobbing and dried her face on his plaid shirt. "I don't like you as a girl. When are you gonna be my Daddy again?"

"Soon, sweetie. Why don't you ask Pru? She's the one who's going to turn us back."

"I will. Soon as she comes home."

He pushed the basement door open with his foot. "By the way, when did you learn to speak so well?"

"Two weeks ago. Mommy left the History Channel on while she was cleaning. I learned a lot of new words."

"Well, I'm quite impressed. And a little intimidated actually." He tickled her a little, making her giggle. "Pretty soon you're going to be smarter than your old man."

"I'll try not to rub it in."


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next few days, Castiel came and went on a mission or two, always rushing back to Dean at his earliest convenience. Meg returned later in the day with some more supplies to turn them back to normal. They still could not find a job to get to, but it was a relief. They weren't going to complain about getting to spend time with their family. They both felt a great amount of relief when they finally stopped bleeding and the cramps went away.

Dean was coming in from playing with Thalia, covered in dirt, to find Sera in his bedroom with a couple of garment boxes and fiddling with a glass bottle in her hand full of black liquid.

"What's going on?" He asked as he kept trying to clean himself up.

"You're going out with Castiel tonight." She stood up and looked him over. "A proper date. I know that when you're back to normal you're going to go back to not wanting to act like a couple, especially not in front of us, so you're not going to have many opportunities. There's nothing going on tonight and he'll be back home this afternoon, so it's the perfect time." She handed him the bottle, "Also I uh…made you something."

He took a look at it and his brow furrow. "What is this?"

"Contraception." She pat his arm and then wiped the dirt off on a clean section of his clothes. "Don't need another Nephilim baby complicating things, now do we?"

He hesitated, but ultimately shook his head. "So do I just…?"

"Drink it down, all at once." She confirmed. Dean popped the cork on it and then started to drink. It was bitter, and it burned a little, but he drank it all. He handed the bottle back and Sera nodded and smiled. "Good boy. I picked out your clothes for you, because you're hopeless. There's lingerie and shoes and everything too." She playfully punched him and then frowned at the dirt it left on her hands. "Might wanna shower or something before you touch them."

Dean laughed and nodded. "Thanks. Your daughter's worse though. Sam's going to have a hell of a time getting her clean."

Sera sighed, "I better go check on them." She walked past him. "Have fun on your date tonight, gorgeous." Dean laughed again, this time a little nervously, before clicking the door shut and beginning to strip off his dirty clothes.

Sera sat behind him later, at the kitchen table, trimming up his wet hair. "You sure you want it gone?"

"Yeah."

"But it's so pretty!"

"I don't care, I hate it. Cut it off."

Sera sighed and kept cutting. "Figured out where you guys are gonna go? You know Cas probably won't have any ideas."

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. I've never really had to plan a date before. The formal style of dating is not really my usual style." He tugged at the towel around his shoulder that kept the hair off his clothes as he was cold. He glanced down at the dress he was in. "This is really weird."

"Well, you're a girl now. Girls wear dresses on dates most of the time. Plus, I think you look hot. A lot like your mom, actually."

Dean perked up. "What?"

"You look a lot like your mom." She kept snipping away. "Got your dad's dark hair though."

"Did you…did you know her?"

"I know everyone that's important, Dean."

"I mean…did you ever meet her. You know, in person?"

"Once. The day she met John." He felt her brush through his hair. "Kind of a historic event. I didn't want to miss it. They hated each other so much, so of course it was meant to be." She snickered. "Kind of like you and Cas. Well, he didn't hate you but you were definitely aggressive. I mean, you stabbed him in the chest when you met."

"We're…we're not meant to be. That implies predetermination and you know how I feel about that."

"Yeah, I do." She started cutting again, "But you have to admit, even if it wasn't planned it was unavoidable. You guys are perfect together." She ran her fingers through his now-much-shorter hair. "I left it a little choppy, hope that's okay. I think the bedhead look suits you." She picked up the mirror and let him take a look while she teased it to give him an idea of what it would look like when it was dry. "I like it." He said, and started to get up. Sera shoved him back in the chair. "Nope. Don't go anywhere, I'm doing your nails next."

Dean huffed. "Do you have to?"

"No, but I want to. Just let me do it, okay? I'm having fun. You're like a big, fleshy Barbie Doll."

Dean sighed in resignation and put his hands out for her.

Castiel appeared in the kitchen, brushing himself off. Dean was leaning in the doorway, all dressed up, in full makeup and trying hard not to pick at his nails. Cas appeared to be a bit starstruck. "Hello, Dean."

Dean smiled at him, "Hey there, Cas." He stepped out and spread his arms, turning around so the angel could get a full view. "Like the makeover?"

"You're…you look beautiful." He stepped forward and ran his fingers through his hair. "Did Sera do this?"

Dean nodded. He playfully poked Cas in the chest. "Get cleaned up. We're going out tonight. Not to a bar or something like that. Sera made us reservations and then we're going to the movies." He stepped in a little closer. "Tonight, you and me, we're just a normal couple out on a date, alright? No angel mojo, no demons or fighting, just some good food, a nice walk, a couple hours in a dark theater," He leaned in and kissed him, "And when we get back home, well…" He tilted his head and kissed him again, "We'll just see what happens, yeah?"

Castiel's breath hitched, "You wish…to go out in public with me?" He sounded so surprised. Dean nodded, "I want to see how jealous everyone else out there is at the fact that you're mine, and I'm yours." He traced his fingers down the trenchcoat's lapels. "I want to claim you, while I can." He kissed him again, "Is that acceptable?"

The angel nodded, and Dean pushed him back. "Go put that suit on that Elli got you." Castiel burned under Dean's gaze, "It'll be more fun to take off of you later." That made Castiel swallow hard and go wide-eyed. He immediately disappeared. The devious smile that found its way onto Dean's face was more befitting a demon than a human.

Cherry was disguised again, pretending to dine alone in the fancy French restaurant. She glanced up as they came in, always finding a way to touch each other, sitting close together in the small alcove booth. If she focused, she could hear Castiel ordering the wine and food in perfect French, without even looking at the menu. Dean was resting on his shoulder, and as soon as the waiter walked away they pulled one of the curtains down and she could see the shadow of movement, knew they were kissing. It made her sick.

She looked hard at the curtain. She could do it, she could catch it on fire. It'd certainly put a damper in their evening. But no, that's not what they wanted. She kept having to dig deeper into them to find a purely selfish desire. One that they shared, and one that they both knew would cause more complications than either of them were equipped to handle. That desire was for a family. A real, flesh-and-blood connection between them. Dean had always wanted kids, and Castiel knew that. He wanted that for him, a normal, happy life, children, although in his head he imagined it as Dean being without him, with someone else being normal and uncomplicated. Someone he didn't seem to be ashamed of. However, deep underneath all that was the wish that it would be him.

A Nephilim baby would always be a target, a burden, a complication, just like Thalia was. Though hey never acted like it, and never her made her feel that way, Cherry knew it was a chore to keep her safe, a constant anxiety whenever she was out of sight. She knew the thoughts that tortured Sam and Sera, the worry that Thalia would be damaged as her father had been, as so many other children had been. They feared Cherry, that she would come and take Thalia from them, kill them and that their daughter would grow up not knowing how much she was loved.

Those are all of the same fears that kept that desire buried within Dean and Castiel. Cherry was going to be the one to bring it out of them, to make it real. She was going to give them exactly what it was they wanted, and they would curse it.


	17. Chapter 17

Castiel parked the car in a field, somewhere they could see the stars. Dean looked around. "What are we doing here? I thought we were going home." Cas looked over at him. "There's a meteor shower tonight. I thought you would enjoy seeing it." Dean smiled, and his hand went to the door to open it, only to find Cas had flitted outside, opening the door for him and taking his hand to help him out of the car.

He went to go sit on the hood but Cas stopped him. "No, wait here." He went to the trunk and pulled out a blanket. Dean helped him spread it out on the ground. They sat down on it and looked up at the sky. After a few minutes, Dean started rubbing at his bare arms. Cas took notice. "Are you cold?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Do not lie to me, Dean." He pulled his trenchcoat off and put it around Dean's shoulders. Dean pulled it tight around him. "Thanks." He snuggled up next to Cas for a little extra warmth. They looked up at the sky and soon enough the stars started falling.

Dean looked away from the sky to glance at Cas. "Sera told me that all the angels contributed something to the creation of the world." He nudged the angel, "What did you make?"

"I didn't. Only the higher ranking angels did things like that. I didn't come into power over the garrison until Anael abandoned us." He rubbed Dean through the coat, trying to keep him warm. "I was put in charge of Thursdays, though. Also provided guidance during travel. I handled the prayers from people born on a Thursday or anyone that asked for assistance on that day."

"Yeah? Sounds kind of exhausting."

"Oh, it was. But I do not hear them anymore. Some other angel handles them now."

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes," He tilted Dean's face towards him, "But I wouldn't trade what I have now for what I was then."

"You mean…you wouldn't trade me?"

The angel nodded, and Dean scoffed as he grabbed him and pulled him in. "You're an idiot for putting that much faith in me." He said just before kissing him. As Castiel lay him down, his hands wandering over his skin, Cherry watched them from the shadows. She was casting her spell in Enochian under her breath, peeking out from behind a tree.

She watched them with hatred, but underneath that was a streak of envy. They radiated love, the kind of pure love that she had not felt since her Father's absence from Heaven. Castiel gave all that was in him to Dean. Everything. They shared that. Dean would give up his life, his heart, his very soul if it meant protecting Castiel, or just if Castiel asked it of him. Though, the angel never would.

This was not fair. The angel that ruined Paradise for them all was able to achieve that peace and love they sought on his own, found in some puny human. She clawed at the bark and tore it from the trunk in her quiet anger. They were going to pay.

Sera sat in the kitchen, sewing to fix a tear on a skirt that Thalia made. Sam came in and went for the fridge, grabbing a beer. "Got her to sleep." He looked at what she was doing. "I don't know why she insists on wearing that skirt if she's just going to roll around in the dirt and climb on all of the cars with it on."

"She hates it, so she wears it to get dirty. If I put her in something she likes she'll just sit down and read."

Sam sat down and cracked open his bottle, "What is she up to now?"

"Two days ago she picked up one of Bobby's old lore books about angels and sounded out the Latin better than a Roman citizen. She had to ask me what some stuff actually meant, but she did it-"

"Let me guess, in Latin."

Sera nodded. Sam sighed and leaned on the table. "So, how much has she learned about your side of the family?"

"She's going alphabetical. She stopped at Caluel." Sera knotted off the thread. "I didn't have the heart to tell her that most of the angels she was reading about are dead."

"She's going to find out eventually."

"Yeah, well, doesn't mean she has to now." She looked up at him, "I want her to have some semblance of childish idealism. That's something you and Dean never really got to have and…honestly if I could I would strip her of her power so she could have a chance at being a normal girl." She mumbled something else but Sam couldn't catch it.

"What?"

"What? I didn't say anything."

"I thought I heard you say something like 'and the other one too.' What other one?"

"I told you I didn't say anything, I don't know what you're talking about."

Sam looked at her skeptically but let it drop. If she wasn't going to tell him he couldn't make her. He ran a hand through his hair. "Man, I am wiped."

"You wanna go cuddle on the couch and watch a trashy movie? I'll make popcorn."

He nodded. "Sure, that sounds great. No promises that I won't fall asleep on you though."

It was some time later that Dean and Cas returned home, sneaking in quietly upon seeing that Sera and Sam were fast asleep on the couch. Dean shushed him as he stepped on a creaky floorboard and the angel covered the hunter's mouth to muffle his giggles. They made their way upstairs, checking quickly on their niece before Dean took his angel's hand and led him to the room they shared.

Dean shoved Cas against the door to shut it, kissing him violently and pushing the jacket of his suit off of his shoulders, throwing it aside. Dean pulled back a little and peeled off the trenchcoat, throwing it onto the bed. When he did, suddenly Castiel advanced and grabbed him, turning him around to press his front against the wall, a hand around his throat, tilting his head to expose his neck to him. Castiel dragged his tongue over Dean's artery, causing the hunter to shiver. Castiel's other hand slid slowly down his back, unzipping the dress. His hand then slid into the fabric, over Dean's skin. "Take it off," He said roughly, pulling Dean against him and tracing his tongue along the curve of Dean's ear. Dean really loved it when Cas pushed him around like this. It was his secret guilty pleasure. He never told anyone about it, but it was obvious that Cas knew. However, he didn't like hurting Dean in the least, so he saved it for special occasions.

Dean pulled the dress off and pushed it down, kicking it away when the fabric pooled at his feet. He tried not to moan as a hand slid into his underwear and another teased his nipple through a thin layer of silk. It was like a game, how much could Castiel do to him before he broke and gave them away? He breathed heavily and bit his lip hard as Castiel's nimble fingers went to work and his teeth nipped at the most sensitive spot of his neck. He braced himself and clawed at the wall as he, upon instinct, rode the angel's fingers.

Dean fought the urge to cry out as he felt himself grow hotter, felt his muscles tense and twitch of their own accord, and then finally let himself go, coming hard around the angel's fingers. Castiel held him upright and gently kissed where he had bit him. Dean took a deep breath and smiled, because he knew they were only getting started.


	18. Chapter 18

Dean jolted suddenly to consciousness, relaxing again when he realized he was only in bed with Castiel. The angel's fingers were trailing up and down his back in a comforting sort of way, the same as they had been when Dean had been lulled to sleep. He didn't stop, even as concern came across his face at Dean's sudden gasping. "Is something wrong?"

Dean sleepily shook his head, grunted and burrowed back into the pillow. "Bad dream." He realized that sunlight was shining through the dark curtains and squeezed his eyes shut. "What time is it?"

"Close to ten in the morning, I think." The angel kissed his shoulder. "I can see you are tired, go back to sleep if you wish."

"Naw, I should get up."

"You were up all night, you should go back to sleep." He kept tracing his fingers up and down Dean's spine. "I have been listening in on the conversation in the house. You are not currently required for anything in particular. Sam is reading with Thalia and Seraphiel and Prudence are attempting to work some magic. They are all occupied." He paused and looked as if he was carefully considering his words. "I do not wish to end my time with you just yet."

Dean couldn't help but smile at that, and settled against him comfortably, attempting to drift back off to sleep. "Alright, you've convinced me." He didn't get to see the smile that lit up Castiel's face, but he felt its warmth directed at him.

Downstairs, Prue was chopping roots and Sera was reading through a book. Prue looked at her with a great amount of exasperation. "I still don't get why you can't help."

"Me neither, sweetie." She sighed, "I really wish I could, but I'm not allowed, for some reason." She turned a page and then sniffed. There was a cast iron pot that resembled a cauldron simmering away on the stove and it was filling the kitchen with a very musky scent. She glanced into the library, where Sam was sitting on the couch reading with Tally. "And see this? This is your Uncle Castiel."

"There's not a lot on him." Tally said, and Sam snorted, "Yeah, he never really was much one for revealing himself to humans or sharing his personal business. I hink everything we have on him is secondhand."

"Maybe I should write a new book. With better drawings and updated information."

Sam tousled her hair, forcing her to make the same face at him that he always had at Dean, the expression Dean referred to as a "bitchface."

"Maybe you should." He looked up as Sera stepped over to them, crashing down on Tally's opposite side. "Hey guys, what are you up to?"

"Just looking at Tally's family history." He returned to looking at the book, turning a page. Sera stretched her arm over the back of the couch to fiddle with Sam's hair. Tally piped up from between them. "Who's next?"

Sam laughed and began reading off the next entry. When he was done Sera tugged on his hair a bit to get his attention. "What do you say we let Cas watch Tally tonight and then all of us girls go out? There's a place next town over I've been wanting to check out. They're having a karaoke contest."

"Sure, that sounds fun." He glanced up above them. "You sure Dean would be down for that, though?"

Sera nodded. "Yeah, if he ever gets out of bed." She giggled. Thalia looked up at her. "Momma?" she said quietly, catching her attention.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Are Uncle Dean and Uncle Castiel ever going to get married?" I took all of Sam's willpower not to laugh. Sera petted her daughter's hair. "I don't think so, sweetie."

"Why not?"

"Because Dean's not really the marrying sort. And actually, it would be better," She lowered her voice to a whisper, "If we pretended that their relationship was their little secret. He's not really comfortable with all of us knowing and talking about it."

"That's dumb. If you love someone you should tell everyone who will listen."

"I know, sweetie, but with Dean it's…it's a complicated situation that mostly has to do with your Grandfather, John. Even though he's not around anymore, he still has a pretty tight grip on Dean's state of mind. So if you wouldn't mind, just act like you don't know, alright?"

Tally sighed. "Alright, if I have to. Still think it's dumb."

Some time in the early afternoon Dean finally came downstairs in a black undershirt and some fitted jeans, barefoot. Sera thought it would have been less shocking if he had come down completely naked. His hair was a mess, but the haircut she gave him made it flattering. "Morning, gorgeous." She said, and Dean gave a weak smile, rubbing his eyes. "What's goin' on?"

"Get cleaned up, sweetheart. We're going out tonight."

"What, like…a double date or something? No thank you."

"Nope. Girl's night. You, me, Sam, and Prue. Half price drinks and karaoke, bitch."

"Sounds…fun?" He said as Sera handed him a hairbrush. "I'm kind of exhausted though."

"Yeah, I figured. You slept through most of the day." She playfully punched his arm. "What did you get up to last night?"

He glared at her and started grooming. "Where's everyone else?"

"Outside. They're teaching Tally how to fight in the event she gets taken. We agreed we'd start training her soon as she could wrap her fingers around the hilt of the demon knife and she did that today." She glanced out the window. "Mostly I think they're just wearing her out so Cas doesn't have to deal with her later. She can be a hassle to get to go to sleep."

"That girl has way too much energy."

"Yeah, well, she's growing at almost four times the normal rate of aging. She's almost like an insect. Eats a lot, moves a lot to adapt to her advanced metabolism. She's going to end up a lot like her Uncle Gabriel, wolfing down all that sugar."

"Hopefully she won't be nearly as mischievous."

"No way of knowing, Deano." Finally Castiel appeared, as if he had been away and not upstairs with Dean all day. "Hello." He said towards both of them.

"Hey," they said together. Sera walked up to him and fixed his tie. "Cas, may I request a favor?" Castiel nodded. "Would you mind watching Tally for a few hours tonight?"

"Not at all." He said firmly, and then looked at Dean. "You look tired."

"Yeah, got quite a workout last night." Dean stretched in such a way that exposed his midriff and brought his breasts to attention. "Still really sore." He relaxed and went back to brushing his hair. "Could do with a run, or a full body massage." He groaned, "Or maybe some yoga," he chuckled, obviously being sarcastic. Cas had tilted his head in that curious-puppy way to look him over. "I would be happy to assist in any way I can."

Sera cleared her throat. "I'm uh…gonna go join them out in the yard." She looked hard at Dean, "Just be sure to be ready by six, alright?" He nodded. "That's my girl." As she walked out, her peripheral vision caught Dean grabbing Cas's hand and pulling him close. She was giggling as she shut the door.


	19. Chapter 19

"I just want to state for the record that I am really not comfortable in this outfit." Sam said, picking at the skirt of Sera's favorite green dress.

"Yeah, but you're damn pretty." Sera said as she turned into the parking lot. "Plus I wanted you to know what girls go through." She parked and then angled the rearview mirror to look at him in the back seat. Dean was riding shotgun and Prue was doing up her hair as she sat next to Sam in the back. "Keep an eye on it, sweetie. It's shorter on you than it is on me and as much as I'm enjoying the view I don't want us to run into any trouble tonight."

She undid her seatbelt. "I mean, it really would not do for me to have to smite some poor bastard to defend your honor."

"That won't be a problem," He said, getting out of the car. Dean checked himself in the mirror and got out as well, holding the door open for Prue. "It's sad that it took turning into a lady to make you into a gentleman, Winchester.

"Bite me, hellbitch."

"That's my boy," she said, patting his cheek. They all slammed the doors shut and started walking towards the bar. Dean flipped off a group of guys that whistled at them as they were walking in.

Castiel sat on the couch, his niece on his lap and a large, old lore book cracked open and resting on his knees. Thalia was reading aloud from it and turning the pages.

"You speak and read very well for one so young."

"Thanks, Uncle Cas." She turned the page, then sighed. "I'm not normal, am I?"

Cas bit his tongue, "What makes you say that?"

"I'm not stupid."

"No, that you are not. I really shouldn't be the one you should be talking to about this."

"Who should I talk to, then? Daddy just gets quiet and Mommy just sings and makes me fall asleep." She adjusted to face him. "Why am I different, Uncle Cas?"

He closes the book to give her his full attention. "You are special because you are the offspring of an angel and a human. Most children in the world are descendant of humans alone, although some are monsters."

"Like the ones Daddy and Uncle Dean fight when they're gone?" Cas nodded, then continued. "Your mother is not just any angel, either. She is the closest thing Heaven has to a Queen. You age faster, and have multiple powers, like most children of your kind, but it is unclear which ones will develop until you decide who you wish to be."

"There are others like me?"

"Not anymore. There were, once, a long time ago. In fact, your Daddy and Uncle Dean descend from them. That's why they are ideal vessels, and you are too. You might have to deal with that, later."

"Something I saw…heard…Uncle Dean is the vessel for one called Michael, correct? He almost said yes to him once. And Daddy is the vessel for Lucifer, the one that makes Mommy sad."

"That's right. But your Uncle Dean said no and your Daddy was stronger than Lucifer, and they saved the world, like I'm sure you will do someday."

"Do I have to? Can't I be normal?"

"Being normal is not an option, I am sorry, but whether or not you choose to fight is entirely up to you. Though I believe, with your heritage, you will ultimately do what is right, whatever that may be."

"You have faith in me."

"That I do. I believe you will be smart, like your father, strong like your Uncle Dean, wise and powerful like your mother…"

"What will I get from you?"

Castiel smiled, but then it fell. "Hopefully, nothing, I do not believe I have any qualities you would wish to possess. Anything you might find admirable in me I learned from your Uncle and your father."

"I don't believe that's true."

Castiel pet her hair. "One day, Tally, I will tell you my story. I will tell you everything, and you will know. But now is not the time for that. Now I must get you to bed."

"No!"

"Yes. Your mother will be quite cross with me for letting you stay up this late." Thalia sighed and Castiel gathered her in his arms, carrying her upstairs to her room.

Sera flipped through the book of selections with Sam at her side. She giggled and then pointed out one. "Look, Sam, they have it!"

"No, no no no I am NOT singing that."

"Why not? I don't think there's going to be a time in your life where it's more appropriate."

"I don't even know if I can sing."

Sera rolled her eyes and then touched his throat with her index finger. "There. Now go, tell the DJ or I'll make you."

"What are you guys talking about? Which song?" Dean asked after he swallowed the beer he was chugging.

"You'll find out in a minute." Sera said playfully. Sam sighed in resignation, took note of the number and then got up, walking over to the DJ to request it. He leaned against an amp while waiting for the other person to finish. Prue wriggled in her seat and sat up at attention. "I have a feeling this is going to be awesome."

"It's my idea, of course it's awesome." She flipped a few pages and then slid the book over to Dean. "Find one for yourself, because you're going next."

"Oh, no, singing in public is so not for me."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that sweetheart." Suddenly Sam got up on the stage and took the mic, and Sera turned to watch. Sam turned his back to the crowd. The music started, Sam danced along, and Dean's eyes got wide. "No way."

"Yes way," Sera said, her voice becoming high and squeaky with excitement. Sam turned as he began to sing.

_"I'm_ _Goin' out tonight, I'm feelin' alright, Gonna let it all hang ooout" _

Sera and Prue clapped and cheered while Dean just laughed and shook his head. A little into the song Sam stepped down and started walking through the crowd.

_"The girls need a break-tonight we're gonna take, The chance to get out on the town. We don't need romance-we only wanna dance, We're gonna let our hair hang down."_

"Okay, so not doing this. Don't care how you threaten me."

"Oh, come on Dean, where's that famous Winchester sense of adventure?"

_"The best thing about being a woman, Is the prerogative to have a little fun. Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady, Men's shirts-short skirts. Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style, Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction. Color my hair-do what I dare, Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel. Man! I feel like a woman!"_

Dean looked up at Sam and winked as he approached their table. For all that it was ridiculous, Sam seemed really happy to be doing it. Dean knew, even though they'd never talked about it, that this was actually one of Sam's favorite songs. He sometimes sang it in the shower when he thought no one was around. It seemed very…freeing for him to sing it out in front of people without judgment, because in this moment he was just a girl singing an empowering song about how great it was to be a girl. Dean started looking through the book in earnest while Sam turned the performance into an excuse to give Sera a lapdance.

_"I get totally crazy, Can you feel it, Come, come, come on baby, I feel like a woman."_


End file.
